Tatsuro Taira’s UFC Vegas 62 flyweight fight with C.J. Vergara could be looked at through a different lens following Friday morning, when Vergara missed weight by a full three pounds.
The bout was moved to a catchweight, and for Vergara, it may very well be his swan song at 125lbs, having now missed weight twice in just three UFC bouts.
The action started out with Vergara pressing, jabbing his way in and keeping Taira on his back foot. The Japanese fighter was comfortable countering, and when they came together, it was Taira getting the fight to the ground, and working from side control. Taira looked to move to mount, but Vergara was able to avoid that, leaving the pair in north-south position with Taira still on top. By the end of that sequence, Taira was back in side control, and Vergara was letting precious seconds tick away stuck on his back. He finally made some space and exploded out with just over two minutes left in the round, but it wasn’t long before Taira tied things up again, landing a trip and coming down right into mount.
To his credit, Vergara quickly got Taira into half-guard, and later reversed, getting on top and latching on with an arm-triangle choke. He didn’t have it, however, and when they got back up, Taira landed a final flurry, with punches and a high kick connecting. Ultimately, the round belonged to the undefeated 22-year old from Okinawa.
Taira opened round two with a nasty leg kick that took Vergara off his feet. The Japanese standout closed the distance after that — right into a Vergara punch. Taira would land a kick up high, miss on a takedown attempt, and come close with a knee. Vergara went back to pressing forward, but Taira clinched up, and later trapped a leg, forcing Vergara to the fence. After taking the back, Taria landed a trip, latched on with a body triangle, and had well over three minutes to work on a rear-naked choke. Taira was across the chin, and Vergara fought hands; Taira would eventually release the hold, then reapply it. Taira would transition to an arm-bar in the final minute of the round, and that would force the tap!
The second round submission improves 22-year-old @TatsuroTaira to 12-0 👀 #UFCVegas62 pic.twitter.com/L4gqaqmxUZ
— UFC (@ufc) October 15, 2022
Improving to a perfect 12-0, it was another big night for young flyweight prospect Tatsuro Taira, who now holds six submission victories as a pro.
Official Result: Tatsuro Taira def. C.J. Vergara by submission (arm-bar), Round 2, 4:19
