Taira remains unbeaten after knee-injury stoppage for Perez

Tatsuro Taira remains unbeaten in professional MMA after he secured a TKO win over Alex Perez in the flyweight main event of a UFC Fight Night at the APEX Facility in Las Vegas on the morning of Sunday 1 June 2024.

However, Taira moving to 16-0 did not happen in the way that the rising Japanese star would have liked, as former title challenger Perez suffered a knee injury stoppage almost three minutes into the second round which robbed fans of a potential thriller.

The first round and a half had certainly suggested there was little between the fighters, with Perez mounting an aggressive offence that Taira generally fared well against.

The latter was twice cautioned for eye pokes, but his composure was otherwise exemplary for a 24-year-old in his first UFC main event. Nonetheless, Perez seemed to be succeeding in making the fight a chaotic affair, and getting slightly the better of that chaos.

Yet, after a long sequence on the feet in the second round, Taira managed a takedown on his opponent, only for Perez to scream out in pain. Referee Herb Dean immediately waved the fight off due to a knee injury, bringing a disappointing end to a promising bout. The result went into the books as a TKO via leg injury at 2:59 of Round 2.

Following the win, Taira got on the microphone and called for his first UFC title shot against reigning flyweight title holder Alexandre Pantoja, who successfully defended his belt for the second time at UFC 301 last month.

The rest of the main card saw Miles Johns defeat Douglas Silva de Andrade via unanimous decision in a bantamweight co-main event; Lucas Almeida outpointed Timothy Cuamba in the featherweight division; Brady Hiestand submitted fellow bantamweight Garrett Armfield; Asu Almabayev got the better of Jose Johnson via unanimous decision in a flyweight fight; and Adam Fugitt took a split decision win over Josh Quinlan in the welterweight opener.

The UFC continues on Saturday 22 June with a Fight Night in Saudi Arabia, headlined by a middleweight clash between Robert Whittaker and Ikram Aliskerov.

UFC Fight Night: Perez v Taira – Main card results

- Main event: Flyweight: Tatsuro Taira def. Alex Perez via TKO (leg injury), R2, 2:59

- Bantamweight: Miles Johns def. Douglas Silva de Andrade via unanimous decision (30-27 30-27 29-28), R3, 5:00

- Featherweight: Lucas Almeida def. Timothy Cuamba via unanimous decision (29-28 29-28 29-28), R3, 5:00

- Bantamweight: Brady Hiestand def. Garrett Armfield via submission (rear-naked choke), R3, 1:52

- Flyweight: Asu Almabayev def. Jose Johnson via unanimous decision (30-27 30-27 30-27), R3, 5:00

- Welterweight: Adam Fugitt def. Josh Quinlan via split decision (29-28 28-29 29-28), R3, 5:00