Tatsuro Taira reveals dream fight as UFC champion, but insists Alexandre Pantoja deserves next title shot no matter what

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 06: Tatsuro Taira of Japan reacts to his win in a flyweight fight during the UFC 323 event at T-Mobile Arena on December 06, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Tatsuro Taira had to wait a little bit longer than expected to get his title shot after flyweight champion Joshua Van suffered a minor injury that delayed their fight until UFC 328.

While that required Taira to endure a longer training camp after he had already spent several weeks in the United States, the 26-year-old top contender from Japan never lost sight of the mission and that’s winning his first major championship. While some title fights are built around a rivalry, Taira has nothing but good things to say about Van, especially after they ran into each other a few times in the past.

“Joshua Van, his strength is definitely his striking and his toughness,” Taira told MMA Fighting. “He’s actually younger than me and just looking back at how he got in that position, everything was so quick. Everything happened like boom and now he’s a champ. I’m just looking forward to this fight and facing him in the octagon and seeing what kind of fight he’s going to give me.”

Van became champion after his fight against Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 323 came to an anticlimactic conclusion when the Brazilian suffered a freak injury just 26 seconds into the opening round. The result still counted as a win for Van, who claimed the flyweight title as a result.

None of that was Van’s fault, but there’s still been some criticism that he didn’t actually win the title as much as he just benefited from an opponent’s injury. But Taira doesn’t hold that against him because he knows Van is a great fighter and how he became champion doesn’t matter now.

“That accident did happen,” Taira said. “I was very looking forward to that fight so I was kind of sad in that sense. So we were in the same fight week and I would meet a lot and I could see even before his fight he was full of energy, he was ready for that moment. Again, he’s always a fun fighter and I was looking forward to that fight. Very unfortunate with the accident but he’s a great fighter. He has great takedown defense, his striking and everything. I wish we could have seen a better fight that day but he’s such a great fighter.”