UFC champ Joshua Van says Tatsuro Taira will serve as first flyweight title defense
UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van reportedly has his first title defense.
The promotion's youngest beltholder told fans at a UFC Houston Q&A session Friday that he will face Tatsuro Taira next. He did not specify when or where the fight would take place.
"I'm fighting Tatsuro next, bro," Van said when asked to evaluate his potential challengers.
Van won the flyweight title at UFC 323 on Dec. 6, unseating Alexandre Pantoja via a freak accident. Van entered the bout as a significant underdog, but an awkward fall in the first minute caused Pantoja to gruesomely dislocate his shoulder and left Van as the new champion despite landing only two significant strikes.
A rematch with Pantoja, who was on one of the best runs in UFC flyweight history, looms, but it's unclear when the Brazilian will be in fighting shape again. That left two possibilities for Van's first defense: Taira and Manel Kape.
Taira was the more telegraphed option, as he was conspicuously sitting next to Dana White at UFC 323 during Van's fight after defeating former champion Brandon Moreno. Taira holds an 18-1 record and would be the first Japanese champion in UFC history.
Van, the first Asian-born champion, could have also faced Kape, who has won seven of his past eight fights and last beat Brandon Royval in December. Kape shot down a false report that a title shot was in the works for him last weekend, claiming the UFC promised the spot to Taira.
