Joshua Van VS Tatsuro Taira

Joshua Van retained the UFC flyweight title by stopping Tatsuro Taira via TKO (punches) in round five of their co-main event at UFC 328 in Newark on May 9, 2026. Taira controlled the opening round with calf kicks and multiple takedowns to mount, but Van answered in round two with a right hand that floored the challenger and followed up with ground strikes. Van continued to hurt Taira in the third with sharp combinations and multiple knockdowns, though Taira recovered enough to secure takedowns and mount in round four, keeping the fight alive going into the championship round. Van broke through 1:32 into the fifth when body shots staggered Taira, and a volley of follow-up punches brought the stoppage. The bout was the first UFC flyweight title fight contested between two Asian-born fighters; Van collected a $100,000 performance bonus and called out former champion Alexandre Pantoja for a rematch.

Joshua Van makes his first flyweight title defense against Japan's Tatsuro Taira in a matchup that pits the division's most prolific striker — Van averages nearly nine significant strikes per minute, the highest rate in flyweight history — against its most suffocating grappler, who holds 52 percent historical control time. Van won the belt with a 26-second injury stoppage of Alexandre Pantoja, leaving championship legitimacy still to be proven over full rounds, while Taira arrives off back-to-back stoppages including a second-round TKO of former champion Brandon Moreno.