UFC Vegas 93: Tatsuro Taira set for acid test against former title challenger Alex Perez

This weekend’s UFC action comes from the UFC Apex, where a rising Japanese star has the opportunity to earn his stripes and position himself as a legitimate title contender in the flyweight division.

Twenty-four-year-old Tatsuro Taira faces the biggest test of his career as he goes up against former title challenger and No. 5-ranked flyweight contender Alex Perez in a five-round main event. It’s a bout that will tell us a lot about Taira’s current rate of progression, with the Japanese star looking to continue his outstanding form inside the Octagon.

Taira is undefeated at 15-0, with his last five wins coming under the UFC banner. His promotional debut saw him claim a shutout decision victory over Carlos Candelario at the Apex at UFC Vegas 54, then he claimed back-to-back wins, and back-to-back Performance of the Night bonuses, with submissions of C.J. Vergara and Jesus Santos Aguilar.

Those victories earned Taira a spot on his first UFC pay-per-view event, and he continued his undefeated record with a unanimous decision victory over Edgar Chairez in a 130-pound catchweight matchup. He then returned to the UFC Apex and TKO’d Carlos Hernandez in the second round last December to push him up to 13th in the UFC’s official flyweight rankings.

Now Taira is set for his fifth UFC Apex appearance, with this fight looking like a potential gateway to the division’s elite.

Perez is a veteran of the UFC flyweight division, having competed under the UFC banner 11 times. That run included an unsuccessful challenge for the UFC flyweight title at UFC 255, where he was submitted by then-champ Deiveson Figueiredo. That defeat sent Perez on a three-fight skid, with losses to Alexandre Pantoja and Muhammad Mokaev in 2022 and 2024, respectively.

But Perez delivered a timely reminder of his credentials with a second-round knockout of Brazilian contender Matheus Nicolau at UFC Vegas 91 to consolidate his standing in the UFC’s top five.

Now Perez will look to defend his ranking against Taira, who knows that victory could propel him towards a possible title eliminator bout in one or two fights’ time.

It’s a compelling flyweight clash at the top of a card packed with international prospects.

Ikram Aliskerov will look to continue his rise up the 185-pound ladder as the 15-1 Russian lines up against Brazil’s 12-3 Antonio Trocoli, while further down the card, rising flyweights Tagir Ulanbekov and Joshua Van go head to head.

The card also sees the second UFC appearance of undefeated Swedish strawweight Josefine Knutsson, who puts her 7-0 record on the line when she takes on debuting Contender Series alum and former LFA strawweight champion Julia Polastri.