MMA News

Tag: UFC Vegas 98

  • UFC Roster Update: Latest Round Of Cuts Following Fight Night: Royval-Taira

    UFC Roster Update: Latest Round Of Cuts Following Fight Night: Royval-Taira

    The weigh-ins for this past weekend’s UFC Vegas 98 event at the Apex were fairly dramatic with three fighters failing to hit the mark. Despite their misses, both Jared Gordon and Dan Argueta still competed at the event that was headlined by Brandon Royval’s win over Tatsuro Taira.

    Unfortunately for him and his opponent, the same couldn’t be said for Josh Fremd who was scheduled to meet Abdul Razak Alhassan at middleweight. Fremd hit the scales at 189, making him three pounds over the required limit of 186.

    The fight was cancelled and according to the UFC Roster Tracker account on X, will be the final chapter in Fremd’s UFC career for the time being.

    The Roster Tracker account has been incredibly active over the past few days with what appears to be a long string of releases from the UFC which isn’t necessarily anything new for the promotion.

    Fremd’s name was added to the list after his weight miss this past weekend, ending his UFC career with a record of 2-4.

    The 30-year old had missed weight by three pounds once before during his UFC tenure, coming in at 189 for his meeting with Jamie Pickett in August of last year where the fight went ahead.

    Wales’ Cory McKenna who did compete at UFC Vegas 98 was also revealed to no longer be on the roster following her second consecutive defeat, ending her run inside the Octagon at 3-3.

  • UFC Rankings Report: Paddy Pimblett Ties With Former Lightweight Champion

    UFC Rankings Report: Paddy Pimblett Ties With Former Lightweight Champion

    As always, the latest action on offer inside the UFC Octagon has been followed by the release of the updated rankings.

    And in the aftermath of UFC Fight Night: Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira, MMA News has you covered with this week’s updates to the official UFC rankings.

    Men’s Pound-For-Pound: No changes.

    Women’s Pound-for-Pound: No changes.

    Women’s Strawweight: No changes.

    Women’s Flyweight: No changes.

    Women’s Bantamweight: No changes.

    Flyweight: No changes.

    Bantamweight: No changes.

    Featherweight: No changes.

    Lightweight: The UFC rankings at 155 pounds have had a slight adjustment, with Jalin Turner moving above former champion Rafael dos Anjos (#14) to #13 in the division. The rising Paddy Pimblett has also received a boost, climbing one place to share #14 with “RDA.”

    Paddy Pimblett & King Green
    Image: @UFCEurope/X

    Welterweight: No changes.

    Middleweight: No changes.

    Light Heavyweight: No changes.

    Heavyweight: No changes.

    You can view the full updated UFC rankings here.

  • Tatsuro Taira Issues First Statement After UFC Fight Night Loss To Brandon Royval

    Tatsuro Taira Issues First Statement After UFC Fight Night Loss To Brandon Royval

    Tatsuro Taira has released his first statement on social media after suffering the first loss of his career in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event.

    After winning his first six outings on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage, Taira had the opportunity to impress opposite the #1-ranked contender at 125 pounds on Saturday night inside the Apex.

    And although he exited the cage with a defeat added to his previously perfect record, the rising Japanese star certainly made a splash in his sophomore experience in the headline spotlight.

    Taira Keeps Eyes On Ultimate Prize After First UFC Setback

    Taira played his part in one of the best main events and fights seen under the UFC banner in 2024, going toe-to-toe with Brandon Royval across 25 minutes in Las Vegas.

    The Japanese 24-year-old earned the nod on one of the judges’ scorecards, but he ultimately fell on the wrong side of a split decision verdict.

    Nevertheless, Taira’s stock didn’t appear to fall with the result, which came after he had overcome notable adversity in round three to avoid being finished.

    And moving forward, the loss has seemingly done little to affect the Okinawa native’s drive to reach the top. In fact, he appears more eager to achieve title glory in the UFC than ever.

    “Thank you so much for all your support. I’m also grateful to my team for coming to the U.S. and supporting me,” Taira wrote on X (translated from Japanese). “Even though I was overcome with emotion after losing, I felt a strong desire to become UFC champion and give back to everyone, even if just a little. I will look forward and come back stronger.”

    While Taira looks ahead to his chance to quickly return to winning ways next time out, gold is no doubt on the mind of Royval.

    “Raw Dawg” has now won back-to-back main events against top-five opposition since falling short against Alexandre Pantoja in his first title shot last December. He’ll now have a close eye on “The Cannibal’s” upcoming defense opposite newcomer Kai Asakura.

  • ‘New Mythical Fighter: Round 5 Royval’ – Fans & Fighters React As Brandon Royval Edges Out Tatsuro Taira In Crazy UFC Fight Night Main Event

    ‘New Mythical Fighter: Round 5 Royval’ – Fans & Fighters React As Brandon Royval Edges Out Tatsuro Taira In Crazy UFC Fight Night Main Event

    A highly anticipated UFC Fight Night main event between Brandon Royval and Tatsuro Taira lived up to the hype and then some. And after five rounds of back-and-forth, hard-fought action, Royval ultimately came out on top in a split decision.

    Royval appeared to be getting the better of Taira through most of the first round, landing shots that snapped Taira’s head back. The Japanese fighter, however, appeared to possibly stun the former title challenger late in the round and scored a takedown before its conclusion.

    Taira got back to work in the second round, scoring a takedown early and looking for multiple submission attempts from the back. Royval defended well, but Taira maintained a body triangle and twisted “Raw Dawg” and his limbs on more than one occasion.

    Royval, however, got control back by tagging Taira with a number of hard shots, which had referee Jason Herzog looking close to intervening for the TKO stoppage. The #1-ranked contender went to the ground with Taira and looked for an armbar. However, Taira got out of it and got right back to Royval’s back, looking for a rear-naked choke in the round’s closing seconds.

    Taira brought the fight back to the ground and was in control for nearly the whole of the fourth stanza, riding in top position and working Royval over with his grappling. This led to a suspenseful and highly anticipated final round.

    Royval was getting the better of Taira on the feet, but the latter brought the fight back to the mat. “Raw Dawg,” however, worked his way back to the feet and landed some strong shots. Royval then went for a guillotine and several other submission attempts, staying in control on the ground until the final horn.

    Royval Wins Competitive, Entertaining Flyweight Main Event vs. Taira, Ends Taira’s Undefeated Record

    Royval has now won five of his last six fights, with his sole loss in that span coming from an unsuccessful challenge of flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 296 last December

    Meanwhile, the loss marks the first of Taira’s professional career after starting his Octagon tenure at 6-0.

  • ‘Split Decision Is Insane’ – Fans React As JunYong Park Overcomes Knockdown To Outpoint Brad Tavares In UFC Fight Night Co-Headliner

    ‘Split Decision Is Insane’ – Fans React As JunYong Park Overcomes Knockdown To Outpoint Brad Tavares In UFC Fight Night Co-Headliner

    JunYong Park continued his upward momentum and scored another win in the Octagon, defeating Brad Tavares in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night: Royval vs. Taira.

    Park and Tavares battled closely in the first round, with the former attempting to pressure and walk down his veteran opponent. Tavares, however, took the frame by landing solid shots, including a 1-2 that dropped Park.

    The South Korean survived to the horn, however, and he and Tavares managed to both land hard on each other during the second frame. Park continued to land at will and did more damage in the final round.

    One judge controversially scored the fight 29-28 for Tavares, but the other two awarded their 29-28 scores to Park for a split decision win.

    JunYong Park Edges Out Brad Tavares On Scorecards In UFC Fight Night Co-Main Event

    The result saw Park rebound from a loss to André Muniz at the end of last year. He’s won five of his last six and is now 8-3 in the Octagon.

    Tavares, meanwhile, has now lost back-to-back fights and four of his last five.

  • UFC Fight Night: Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira Weigh-In Results: 3 Miss Weight

    UFC Fight Night: Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira Weigh-In Results: 3 Miss Weight

    UFC Fight Night: Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira takes place on Saturday, and MMA News is here to bring you the official weigh-in results!

    After returning to Salt Lake City, Utah for its latest numbered event, mixed martial arts’ leading promotion is back at its home base to stage another card at the Apex.

    Topping the lineup will be a high-stakes flyweight affair, as former title challenger Brandon Royval looks to secure another shot at unseating Alexandre Pantoja from the throne. To do so, he’ll need to blemish the perfect professional record of rising Japanese contender Tatsuro Taira.

    Elsewhere, the likes of middleweight veteran Brad Tavares, formerly ranked lightweight Grant Dawson, and knockout artist Abdul Razak Alhassan will all be in action.

    UFC Fight Night: Royval vs. Taira Weigh-In Results

    UFC Fight Night: Royval vs. Taira takes place on Saturday, October 12, at the Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card begins at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, with the preliminary card starting at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT.

    See above for a full replay of the weigh-ins via MMA Junkie, and check out the full results below!

    Main Card:

    • Flyweight Main Event: Brandon Royval (125.5lbs) vs. Tatsuro Taira (125.5lbs)
    • Middleweight Co-Main Event: Brad Tavares (185lbs) vs. JunYong Park (185.5lbs)
    • Welterweight: Chidi Njokuani (170.5lbs) vs. Jared Gooden (172.5lbs)**
    • Lightweight: Grant Dawson (156lbs) vs. Rafa Garcia (154.5lbs)
    • Welterweight: Daniel Rodriguez (170lbs) vs. Alex Morono (170.5lbs)
    • Middleweight: Abdul Razak Alhassan (186lbs) vs. Josh Fremd (189lbs)*

    Preliminary Card:

    • Flyweight: CJ Vergara (126lbs) vs. Ramazonbek Temirov (125.5lbs)
    • Featherweight: Jonathan Pearce (145lbs) vs. Pat Sabatini (145lbs)
    • Welterweight: Themba Gorimbo (170.5lbs) vs. Niko Price (170.5lbs)
    • Heavyweight: Junior Tafa (241lbs) vs. Sean Sharaf (252lbs)
    • Women’s Strawweight: Julia Polastri (115lbs) vs. Cory McKenna (115lbs)
    • Bantamweight: Dan Argueta (138.5lbs)*** vs. Cody Haddon (135lbs)
    • Flyweight: Clayton Carpenter (125.5lbs) vs. Lucas Rocha (125.5lbs)

    *Josh Fremd missed the middleweight limit by 3 pounds, fight canceled

    **Jared Gooden missed the welterweight limit by 1.5 pounds, fight status TBC

    ***Dan Argueta missed the bantamweight limit by 2.5 pounds, fight status TBC

  • Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira Set To Headline Apex-Held UFC Fight Night On October 12

    Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira Set To Headline Apex-Held UFC Fight Night On October 12

    Top flyweights Brandon Royval and Tatsuro Taira will vie for a possible title shot in the main event of a UFC Fight Night this fall.

    On October 12, two of the world’s best at 125 pounds will have their respective second headliners of the year thus far, with former title challenger and #1-ranked contender Royval tasked with blemishing the perfect record of Taira if he’s to stake his claim for a trilogy with Alexandre Pantoja.

    This fight was initially leaked by Bradley Martyn, who posted an image of the UFC’s matchmaking wall on social media, and later confirmed by Eurosport Nederland’s Marcel Dorff.

    Royval, Taira Target Title Shot With UFC Main Event Win

    When they make the walk for a five-round card-topper later this year, both Royval and Taira will look to ride the momentum from key results in 2024 all the way to the gold.

    Royval (16-7) closed out his 2023 with an unsuccessful first title bid on MMA’s biggest stage, falling short on the scorecards against Pantoja at UFC 296. With that result marking his second setback to “The Cannibal,” it appeared “Raw Dawg” would be in for a lengthy journey back to the belt. But this past February, Royval capitalized on a late-notice opportunity to run it back with Brandon Moreno, avenging his 2020 loss to the former champ by way of split decision in Mexico City.

    Taira (16-0), meanwhile, headlined a UFC Fight Night at the Apex four months later. After three wins last year to climb toward contention, the Japanese up-and-comer benefitted from a serious knee injury to Alex Perez this past June, which gave him the TKO stoppage in round two and paved the way for his rise to #5 in the flyweight pecking order.

    With this addition, the current fights expected to take place at the UFC Fight Night on October 12 are as follows:

    • Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira (flyweight main event)
    • Cody Garbrandt vs. Miles Johns (bantamweight)
    • Brad Tavares vs. Jungyong Park (middleweight)
    • Themba Gorimbo vs. Niko Price (welterweight)
    • Polyana Viana vs. Cory McKenna (women’s strawweight)
    • Josh Fremd vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan (middleweight)
    • Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia (lightweight)
    • Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Chris Barnett (heavyweight)
    • Chidi Njokuani vs. Jared Gooden (welterweight)
    • Clayton Carpenter vs. Lucas Rocha (flyweight)
    Tatsuro Taira
    Image: UFC/Zuffa LLC