Joshua Van stops Tatsuro Taira in the 5th round! Defends the flyweight title!
BANGER ASS FIGHT!
Joshua Van and Tatsuro Taira put on a tremendous show. Taira proved what we already knew - that he is a TOUGH S.O.B. that will not be pushed out a fight. Came out the gate seemingly ready. Really tried to stick the jab in Van's face, landed a nice powerful calf kick and then shot on Van in the middle of the cage to push him to the fence where he got Van down. Taira could not get anything done though as the second he gave Van space, he was able to get to his butterfly hooks, elevate and get up from the bottom. Taira got him down again at the end of the round but Van got up even quicker. In round 2, Taira got back to it. After eating some really bad 1-2s, he managed to get Van down again but Van got up. At the end of the round, Van crushes Taira with a huge overhand right that sends Taira down. He's saved by the bell.
Round 3 was a one sided whooping for 90% of it. Taira just does not have the tools to kickbox with Van in open space. His head doesn't move at all so Van was just laying into him with nice accurate punches upstairs. Kept the jab on him. Got kind of close to finishing Taira but ends up getting taken down in the closing seconds of the round. Taira comes out with a fire lit under his ass in round 4. Lands another big leg kick and gets right back on the double leg. Takes Van down and even manages to score a bit of ground and pound from mount. It looks like he was trying to force Van to give up his back. Van seemed wise to it though and just kept trying to build up. Eventually Taira gets so high up as Van is building up he just sells out on a triangle attempt. Almost able to lock it up before he falls off and Van makes him stand. And it's all bad from there. He's swinging but Van is lighting him up. They come back out in the 5th and Van gets right back on the pedal. Pushing Taira back, blasting him with punches along the cage including a nasty body shot that bends Taira over. Taira eventually takes a knee as the ref steps in and calls the fight. Early stoppage but the body language was really bad from Taira.
A big win for Van as he solidifies himself as the champion despite the way he won the belt off Pantoja. Showed some real grit and intelligence when he got put on his back. Just refused to make mistakes and built himself back up to his feet. He's been special since he showed up in the UFC and he's lived up to the hype. Just a tremendous fighter and the exact type of young, entertaining powerhouse you want as the champ at flyweight. This will likely boost Taira's stock, though it also seems to put a hard ceiling on how high he can climb. He's got to learn to strike. Not just at range but how to defend himself and stop eating clean shots. Really gave up on the leg kicks, esp after the knockdown. But man, would love to see him against Pantoja at some point.
Japan will continue to wait for their UFC champion.
