There was a time when the flyweight division was persona non grata in the UFC, a period when the promotion was set on dissolving the men’s 125lb division.
Which makes Saturday’s frankly thrilling UFC Vegas 98 main event all the more impressive. Bringing fans in attendance at the UFC Apex to their feet (if only this fight had been held at a real venue, with thousands of fans, and not a mostly empty production studio), Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira was a rollercoaster affair.
Round one was close, round two, more definitively leaning towards Taira. Round three saw Japan’s Taira nearly finished; the fourth frame had him bouncing back, finding ways to fall back on smothering top control and slick transitions – and a body lock that he seemed to lock up with ease. A competitive fifth had Royval with a slight edge, and that won him the fight – on two of three scorecards at least.
Brandon Royval gets bragging rights, being the first to defeat Tatsuro Taira, who falls to 16-1 as a pro following UFC Vegas 98. “Raw Dawg” was extra gracious in defeat, however, predicting a title in the 23-year’s future. That’s a feat that Royval himself has yet to accomplish, coming up short in his first attempt at gold late last year. What Taira and Royval both accomplished on Saturday, however, was proving that the flyweight division has plenty to offer. Fellow 125’er Ramazan Temirov helped on that front as well – between the three were two post-fight bonuses, Fight of the Night going to Royval vs. Taira, and a Performance of the Night bonus awarded to Temirov for his TKO finish of CJ Vergara.
The other Performance of the Night bonus at UFC Vegas 98 went to Clayton Carpenter. Like Temirov, Carpenter was making his debut on Saturday. In his case, he managed to choke out Lucas Rocha to kick off the card. All four men pocket an extra $50,000 for their bonus-winning efforts.
