Tatsuro Taira was exposed in UFC title bid and validated Joshua Van’s reign, per Rizin champ/ dojo peer of Taira

Tatsuro Taira tried to make historical past in a latest high-octane conflict with Joshua Van, and somebody near the previous weighed in on that UFC title bout. Taira was aiming to be the primary ever Japanese fighter to win a UFC championship, and regardless of a spirited effort, was halted inside the space by Joshua Van final month in Newark, New Jersey. 

Hiromasa Ougikubo is the referenced combatant in query who’s near Taira, and Ougikubo is likely one of the top-level flyweights on the planet as we speak. Ougikubo is the reigning and defending flyweight champion underneath the Rizin Preventing Federation banner and defends his belt in opposition to Makoto Shinryu at Rizin Landmark 14 on June sixth. Hiromasa Ougikubo can also be a frequent coaching companion of Taira’s, and when weighing in on the latter’s loss to Joshua Van at UFC 328, Ougikubo stated [via Bowks Talking Bouts],

“So my sincere thought simply from watching the combat, you would need to give it to Joshua Van. He fought very effectively and he was in a position to expose Taira and he’s only a very proficient fighter. That’s my sincere opinion.”

Tatsuro Taira’s loss to Joshua Van validates latter because the true UFC champ, per Ougikubo

One among Ougikubo’s massive profession wins got here in opposition to Alexandre Pantoja, who stands out as one of many extra profitable UFC flyweight champions in historical past. Many previous to the Taira title protection felt like Van’s standing because the primary heflyweight was in query whereas contemplating the character of the injury-related TKO championship win over Pantoja that noticed Van seize the 125-pound crown. When requested if this Taira victory underscores that Van is actually the UFC champion in some regards, Ougikubo said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],

“So clearly Taira and myself, we prepare from the identical dojo. We come from the identical dojo. So with all that bias apart, I used to be pondering that Taira would be capable to submit Van for positive. However as soon as the combat revealed itself, Van was superb on the bottom. He was very slick. He was in a position to get previous very harmful conditions and clearly his placing was very, superb.”

“So once you take a look at the Pantoja combat, Yeah, that was positively an accident. So, we will’t actually decide issues from there. However primarily based off of the Taira efficiency, I do imagine that he deserves to be the UFC flyweight champion.”