UFC 328 results: Joshua Van scores tough TKO of Tatsuro Taira to retain title

Any doubts about UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van after taking the title when Alexandre Pantoja suffered an injury less than 30 seconds into their title fight were erased on Saturday night when Van survived a tough opponent in Tatsuro Taira. Van was knocked out in the fifth round at the UFC 328 main event in Newark, New Jersey.

Taira opened the fight with a heavy leg kick, looking for a long spin before suddenly changing tactics and shooting to reverse. Taira quickly got to the body, scored and quickly moved up to full. A fight ensued where Van tried to use a butterfly to get back to his feet, but was almost caught in a guillotine.

Van eventually escaped the choke and got back to his feet, where he landed a few hard punches. A hard jab by Van was eventually cut off by another double leg takedown by Taira. Van again escaped to his feet, was taken down again, Taira mounted again and did a little damage before the end of the opening round.

Van did an excellent job of defending the takedown early in round 2, allowing him to land some solid punches that connected to Taira’s face. Taira remained undaunted, however, regaining the takedown and quickly regaining possession. Once again, Van worked a butterfly guard to get out of a bad position and threaten to climb back to his feet. Despite Taira being on top, it was Van who was landing most of the strikes, throwing his back as Taira was overly concerned with positioning.

After the fighters got back to their feet, Van landed a flurry of right hands and tried to land some big shots before the horn sounded to end the second round.

Taira still looked nervous coming out of the corner in Round 3 and Van took advantage with sharp punches as Taira fought back. Taira shot a takedown from far away, making it easy for Van to defend himself and go back to his straight punch.

After another takedown attempt, Van landed a big knee, hurting and bleeding Taira.

Van was hit suddenly leading to a delayed knockdown as Taira’s legs betrayed him. Van followed with another takedown, quickly taking his back and working on a naked back choke. Taira somehow survived this position and eventually got back to his feet. Despite piling on the punishment, Taira finished the round with another big takedown, taking control from the side.

Somehow, Taira continued to bring the onslaught in the fourth round, quickly putting Van on his back and in full action. At this time, Van seemed to have less explosive power in the bad area. When Van finally tried to break out, he was almost caught in a Taira triangle choke in transition.

The momentum continued to swing as Van was once again able to connect clean shots as the fight returned to a standstill, forcing Taira into the defensive zone again.

With the fight likely to go to the top in the final round, Van unleashed some heavy strikes. As Taira tried to pull back some more, Van exploded with a heavy shot, sending Taira reeling. As Van followed up with some big shots, the referee jumped in and stopped the fight.

The official stoppage time was 1:32 of round 5.

“I thought I was going to finish her within three rounds, and I almost finished her, but she’s a tough mom,” Van said of her hard-fought victory. “I said I was just going to the body, and it was over.”

It is expected that Van will win the title in a rematch with Pantoja, who injured his arm while winning the title. Van had no problem with the idea of ​​a reunion.

“Pantoja, you better get it right,” Van said. “We can take it back if you want.”