Tatsuro Taira wanted to make sure to show that rising star Joshua Van isn’t the only impressive young talent in the flyweight division, and he did so on Saturday night by running through South Korean prospect HyunSung Park to close out the night at the UFC APEX. 

Taira suffered the first loss of his career last October in a competitive five-round bout with former title challenger Brandon Royval, but he put himself back in the win column in a hurry against Park. The Japanese standout dropped his foe with successive clean right hands in the first round, using the knockdown to create a chance to dominate on the ground for the remainder of the frame. He took Park to the canvas immediately to start the second, and wasted no time working to the back, where Taira set up a face crank that was too tight for Park to endure. 

While Van has stormed into the spotlight over the last year, establishing himself as the No. 1 contender with a pair of pay-per-view wins in June, the 25-year-old Taira showed on Saturday that he’s very much in the championship mix. This was a one-sided drubbing against a previously unbeaten talent, and puts him in the mix for a massive fight next time out. 

Rebooking him opposite his originally scheduled opponent Amir Albazi could work, but with former champ Brandon Moreno needing an opponent, could we see Taira standing opposite “The Assassin Baby” before the year is out? 

Awesome night for the Argentines

Both Kevin Vallejos and Esteban Ribovics earned hard-fought decision wins on what was a very special night for the UFC’s Argentinian contingent. 

The 23-year-old Vallejos showcased why many view him as one of the top prospects on the roster, earning a clean sweep of the scorecards in a tough battle with fellow Dana White’s Contender Series grad Danny Silva. It was easily the most competitive bout the young Argentine has been in since his loss to Jean Silva in his first appearance at the UFC APEX during Season 7 of the annual talent-search series, but showed Vallejos has the grit and tenacity needed to thrive, in addition to brandishing a solid offensive arsenal. 

Later in the main card, Ribovics continued showing he’s guaranteed excitement every time out by battering durable Brazilian Elves Brener over three rounds. 

For the third straight fight, “El Gringo” happily engaged in a Fight of the Night-style clash, pressing forward and throwing heaps of offence at Brener, who responded in kind as best he could. Ribovics did well to consistently throw combinations, and mix things up nicely, sprinkling in kicks and changing his targets throughout. 

In addition to the countryman going 2-0 on the evening, Saturday was an extra cool moment for the proud South Americans, as all five Argentinian fighters on the roster were in attendance. Francisco Prado was in Ribovics’ corner, Ailin Perez was in the crowd, supporting her compatriots, and Santiago Ponzinibbio was on the Spanish broadcast. Both Vallejos and Ribovics spoke earlier in the week about Ponzinibbio’s influence, what it would mean to them to earn a pair of wins on the evening, and what kind of celebration it would set up for Sunday. 

With both claiming quality wins, the asado should be outstanding. 

Emerging talents shine on the prelims

The three most promising names on the preliminary card slate all picked up quality wins on Saturday, with two of the three handling their business in less than a round. 

Undefeated Brazilian flyweight Rafael Estevam maintained the zero in his loss column with a unanimous decision win over compatriot Felipe Bunes. After Bunes had success in the first, Estevam took over, utilizing his superior grappling to dictate the terms of engagement and thoroughly out-work his countryman over the final 10 minutes. 

Now 14-0, with his last three wins coming under the UFC banner, Estevam should be one to watch going forward in the 125-pound weight class, but he missed weight by a considerable margin for this one — the second time in three fights that he’s missed the mark on the scale — which is guaranteed to slow his ascent, and could eventually force a move to bantamweight in the future. 

In the next fight, highly regarded featherweight Austin Bashi made his second trek into the Octagon and made quick work of short-notice replacement John Yannis, closing the distance quickly, and wrapping up a rear-naked choke finishing in less than four minutes. The Michigan native was  thrown into the deep end in his debut, which he lost to experienced Roufusport representative Christian Rodriguez, but handled this late switch with aplomb, blowing through Yannis in the manner most expected. 

And in the final bout of the prelims, Rinya Nakamura wasted no time getting himself back into the win column, after suffering the first loss of his career in January, by stopping Nathan Fletcher with a well-placed front kick to the liver. 

“Hybrid” was bounced from the ranks of the unbeaten at UFC 311 by Muin Gafarov, but he made quick work of Fletcher to pick up his 10th career win on Saturday. He dug his toes into the Brit’s midsection less than a minute into the fight, and pounced as soon as the delayed-reaction misery set in for Fletcher, officially wrapping things up in 62 seconds. 

Cards like this frequently offer opportunities for emerging names to claim a larger share of the spotlight than if they were positioned on pay-per-view cards and these three men all made sure to do their best to do that on Saturday. All three are rightfully regarded as strong prospects in their respective divisions, and it’ll be interesting to see how the UFC opts to book each of them going forward given their strong performances this weekend. 

Chris Duncan is a dog. “The Problem” navigated a rugged opening frame where he got staggered and stung by Mateusz Rebecki to earn a unanimous decision win over the talented Polish lightweight in a bloody battle of attrition. The Dana White’s Contender Series grad has now won three straight and five of six overall in his UFC career, establishing himself as a consistently entertaining and dangerous competitor along the way. 

Karol Rosa has now gone nine consecutive fights without consecutive wins or losses, as the Brazilian posted a unanimous decision win over Nora Cornolle midway through the main card. A rankings mainstay for the vast majority of her career, Rosa is locked in as a tough out and solid all-around talent in the middle of the women’s bantamweight division, and if she could ever find some offensive consistency, she could climb the ranks relatively quickly. 

Shouts to Neil Magny for continuing to add to his record number of wins in the welterweight division. The tenured veteran rallied to collect a second-round stoppage win over Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos on Saturday, kicking off the finishing push with a pair of knees to the head before dragging the fight to the canvas and ending things there. 

Now in his 13th year on the roster, Magny, who turns 39 on Sunday, remains a tough out and game opponent for anyone in the 170-pound weight class. We seldom talk enough about how difficult it is to stick on the UFC roster for 10-plus years, and Magny’s longevity and continued competitiveness both deserve to be praised. 

Rodolfo Vieira showcased improved striking and conditioning in getting back into the win column with a unanimous decision win over Tresean Gore. A multiple-time Brazilian jiu jitsu world champion, Vieira couldn’t get the fight to the canvas, but still had consistent success, out-landing Gore in all three rounds while constantly pressuring forward to get himself back in the win column. 

Very solid second-round finish for Andrey Pulyaev over fellow DWCS Class of ’24 grad Nick Klein. The Russian admitted to being a little hesitant and anxious in his promotional debut earlier this year, but showed much more comfort in his sophomore outing, folding Klein over with a kick to the body that kicked off the finishing sequence. 

In the opener, Piera Rodriguez picked up her second straight win, out-hustling Ketlen Souza over three rounds. A graduate of Season 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series, “La Fiera” worked behind a solid jab and strong grappling that allowed her to put Souza on the deck multiple times over, which largely neutralized her heavy striking.