Tatsuro Taira Returns with Power After His First Defeat
UFC flyweight contender Tatsuro Taira responded emphatically to his first professional loss, dominating South Korean HyunSung Park at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night.
Taira (17-1) submitted Park (10-1) with a face crank at 1:06 of the second round in the flyweight main event in Las Vegas. This was Taira’s first appearance since suffering the first defeat of his career in October, a split decision loss to Brandon Royval. The 25-year-old Japanese phenomenon looked better than ever on Saturday, achieving his fifth finish, the best in the division, since 2022.
The 125-pound fight was put together on short notice. Originally, Taira was scheduled to face Amir Albazi at the UFC Apex, but Albazi (17-2) was forced to withdraw last week due to undisclosed medical reasons. The UFC turned to Park, who was scheduled to fight former champion Steve Erceg the following week in Las Vegas.
Ultimately, the new matchup turned out to be a complete mismatch. Taira dropped Park with a straight right hand in the first minute and immediately took his back on the ground. Park showed good composure in recovering from the blow and avoiding Taira’s submission attempts, but failed to find a way to separate from Taira and get back to his feet.
Taira wasted no time in throwing himself at Park’s hips in the second round and, once again, took him down to the ground in the first minute. This time, Park couldn’t fight against Taira’s grappling superiority and quickly tapped out to the face crank. Taira has finished eight of his 17 professional victories by submission and another five by knockout.
The victory improves Taira’s UFC record to 7-1. He was the number 6 flyweight in the UFC before Saturday. Had he fought Albazi, he would have had the opportunity to face the division’s number 4 contender.
Park, who signed with the company in 2023, arrived at the weekend without classification.
