UFC 328: Tatsuro Taira doesn't think Joshua Van really won the flyweight title against Alexandre Pantoja

"Like I said, [Pantoja] is a black belt, right?" Van said. "He should know how to fall. That's the thing."

Despite the gruesome replays of Pantoja's arm upon impact with the canvas, the injury didn't require surgery. But even though the 36-year-old Pantoja, who made four defenses of his title from 2023 to 2025, was already back in the gym training for a return, UFC matchmakers surprised Van by going with Taira for his first title defense.

"For sure, [Pantoja] is who I wanted to see first but he needs some time to heal and hopefully we can run it back," Van said. "But I love [the Taira fight] because he's a well-rounded guy. A lot of people know him for his ground game but he actually has striking, too. Who is better to test myself against than someone like Tatsura?"

Taira is 8-1 since making his 2022 UFC debut and has rebounded nicely from a split-decision loss to Brandon Royval in 2024 by recording back-to-back stoppages of Park Hyun-sung and former two-time champion Brandon Moreno.

The loss to Royval also allowed Taira to make a friendly connection with the former title challenger that led to Taira spending time training in Colorado with both Royval and longtime bantamweight contender Corey Sandhagen during this camp.

"[Royval] was my first five-round match and I learned a lot about confidence, cardio and striking," Taira said. "I learned a lot about being a champion from Brandon Royval. [And Sandhagen's team] are always welcoming to us, so I really appreciate all of their coaches and teammates. They have great skill and I tried to improve and get better every day."

Taira said he will be looking for the finish from the start of the fight against Van until the very end.

"I think Van's strengths are his boxing and toughness, but I don't care," Taira said. "I'm just focused on the finish."

When it comes to being the betting underdog, all Van could do was laugh.

"I'm not surprised because almost every fight I was the underdog and I came out on top," Van said. "It's going to be fireworks. You guys might be able to see my ground game, finally.

"[Taira] is a good kid so, Saturday night, I'll be saying, 'I'm happy, thank you.'"