This is the UFC 328 live blog for Joshua Van vs. Tatsuro Taira, the flyweight championship co-main event Saturday at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Van (16-2) is coming off of a controversial win over Alexandre Pantoja in which Van claimed Pantoja’s 125-pound title and earned a top 20 spot in the MMA Fighting Pound-for-Pound Rankings. Sixteen seconds into their December meeting at UFC 323, the bout was waved off after Pantoja suffered a freak arm injury attempting to post on the mat after being
thrown off by Van. Definitive or not, Van officially became the second-youngest champion in UFC history, trailing only Jon Jones.
After suffering his first-ever loss to Brandon Royval, Taira (18-1) rebounded in spectacular fashion, scoring two wins including a second-round knockout of two-time UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno. Taira can become the first Japanese fighter ever to become UFC champion and join Van on the list of youngest champions with both having been born in the early 2000s.
Check out the UFC 328 live blog for Joshua Van vs. Tatsuro Taira below.
Preamble
Ok, we’re now off two decisions in a row and I must admit Volkov vs. WAC wasn’t the most exciting one. This co-main event should be fire, though — and Alexandre Pantoja is definitely glued to the TV to see who walks away with the UFC flyweight belt in Newark.
