Tatsuro Taira continued his impressive unbeaten run in his main event clash against Alex Perez at UFC Vegas 93.
The Flyweight matchup saw the vastly more experienced Perez step up to take on a man avoided by many in the division, in Taira.
It was a big step up in competition for the Japanese man, who ultimately leapfrogged many in the 125lbs division with this second round finish against Perez.
The bout was a back and forth contest but Taira found a lot of success with he Thai clinch as Perez stepped into range. Keeping the contest on the feet for the most part but Perez managed to land a solid take down with 30 seconds left in the first round but Taira managed to get himself straight back to his feet.
The stoppage came after Taira took Perez’s back and with a body triangle wrapped in, he went to work. Looking to take the fight to the mat, Taira dropped backwards and pulled Perez down with him but the American appeared to severely hurt his leg in the processed and tapped.
In the co-main event, Mike Johns looked levels above Douglas Silva de Andrade in their Bantamweight fight. With his shot selection on point, Johns worked well throughout the 15 minute affair and claimed the unanimous decision with just over half of his significant strikes landing successfully.
Lucas Almeida turned his recent from on its head and managed to get back into the win column with a unanimous decision win against Timothy Cuamba. After a very strong start from Almeida, Cuamba looked to rally late but left it too little too late and although he managed to steal the third round on all three of the judges scorecards, the 10 minutes previous were all Almeida and the Brazilian walked away with the win.
Elsewhere on the card, there were big wins for Brady Hiestand,Asu Almabayev, Adam Fugitt and Westin Wilson.
Find the full list of results, below
UFC Fight Night: Perez vs Taira Results
· Tatsuro Taira defeats Alex Perez by TKO, Round 2, 2:59
· Miles Johns defeats Douglas Silva de Andrade by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
· Lucas Almeida defeats Timmy Cuamba by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
· Brady Hiestand defeats Garrett Armfield by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:52 of Round 3
· Asu Almabayev defeats Jose Johnson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
· Adam Fugitt defeats Josh Quinlan by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
· Nate Maness defeats Jimmy Flick by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
· Gabriella Fernandes defeats Carli Judice by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
· Westin Wilson defeats Jeka Saragih by submission (armbar) at 1:49 of Round 1
· Melquizael Costa defeats Shayilan Nuerdanbieke by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:50 of Round 3
· Josefine Knutsson defeats Julia Polastri by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28
Watch Taira's interview below:
