Temirov had earned a Performance of the Night bonus in his promotional debut back in November, where he put away CJ Vergara. That had earned him a shot at the top 15 in just his second fight with the UFC; Johnson, for his part, was on a tear, winner of his last four with two post-fight bonuses in that stretch.

This was a very intriguing matchup between an up-and coming-prospect in Temirov, who had won 11 fights by knockout in his career and Johnson, the credentialed veteran with a wealth of experience.

Johnson started the first round pressing forward in the southpaw stance. Temirov countered with two spinning attacks that barely missed and landed a crisp right hand on the way out. Johnson felt the power early and started to retreat against the cage. Temirov landed a big right hand that forced Johnson to shoot a takedown. After defending and returning to his feet Temirov continued to look for a finish. Throwing violent kicks to the body and over hand rights, Temirov looked very good through the first three minutes. Johnson began to find a home for some leg kicks on the outside, but couldn’t get anything substantial going with his striking. After the opening five minutes it was Temirov who jumped out to an early lead.

In the second round, Johnson pressured forward and attempted a takedown against the fence in the opening minute. Temirov was loading up on big shots looking to end the fight with one punch. Johnson showed good defense getting out of the way of some powerful attacks from Temirov. Johnson was chasing Temirov all over the octagon looking to wear on the gas tank of the young prospect. Johnson landed a good elbow in the clinch and was fighting well on the inside when he closed the distance. after pushing Temirov against the fence, Johnson attempted a takedown again before landed another solid elbow on the break. The second round was competitive throughout and may have evened the fight at one a piece.

The final frame started with Johnson showing a sense of urgency pressing Temirov to the cage. Temirov countered with a takedown attempt of his own that momentarily landed before Johnson returned to his feet. It seemed as Temirov was tiring at a drastic pace with his hands hanging low at his sides. Johnson’s forward pressure was suffocating Temirov who seemed to be exhausted at this point in the fight. Johnson held Temirov against the fence near the thirty second mark before the fighters traded punches in the clinch. Both competitors embraced as the final bell sounded in a highly entertaining contest.

After three rounds all three judges scored the fight 29-28 for Temirov, who moved to 2-0 in the UFC, extending his win streak to eleven.

Official Result: Ramazan Temirov def. Charles Johnson by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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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.

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Ramazan entered the UFC on a nine-fight win streak, having not lost a bout since 2019. Vergara, a DWCS vet, was 2-2 in his last four, with one of those losses coming to the night’s headliner, Tatsuro Taira.

There was a lot of hype behind Temirov coming into the fight, and he more than lived up to it.

The fight started with a spinning kick to the body from Ramazan Temirov. Temirov was getting off early with his kicks and a looping punches from both sides. Admittedly, Temirov was swinging for the fences at times, but Vergara was waiting around too long. In due course, Temirov dropped Vergara with a lunging left hook and swarmed. He then landed a big right hook as Vergara got back to his feet. Temirov wasn’t letting off on the pressure and was landing bombs. Vergara covered up as much as possible, with the referee giving him able opportunity to stay in the fight. He could not. In the end, it was a left hook to the body that crumbled Vergara for Temirov to claim the TKO.

Official Result: Ramazan Temirov def. CJ Vergara by TKO (body punch), Round 1, 2:50

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Ramazan “Temurlan” Temirov
Standing at five-foot-five
Fighting at 125 lbs (flyweight)
27-years-old
Fighting out of Uzbekistan
Training out of Muradov Legion Team
A pro record of 17-2
10 KO/TKOs, 1 Submission
Pro comp; John Lineker

How Temirov Will Fare in the UFC

It’s always exciting when the UFC brings in new blood at flyweight. Even more exciting when it’s a 17-2 flyweight. Temirov also comes from RIZIN which is a promotion that’s given us top notch guys. Ramazonbek Temirov was never a champion there but went 2-0.

His success stems from various reasons but I’d like to say it’s his power and defense. Basically everything thrown from Temirov is wide. The only thing he throws down the middle is that spinning kick to the body. He loves the overhand especially with the right hand. A lot of the times Temirov will let who he’s fighting dictate the pace. Temirov will use a lot of side to side movement making his opponent chase him around expanding their energy. He lets guys walk into his power and can do it for three rounds. Temirov throws those overhands and also throws thudding leg kicks and hooks to the body.

Defensively he’s hard to catch. A lot of evasive footwork and a good gas tank makes it hard for guys to track him down. Where you want to put him is against the cage. In space he has solid takedown defense as his sprawling is excellent. Now, his cage wrestling isn’t as good and that’s where hes been taken down before. With the striking he throws those looping punches so a jab and straight punches would give Temirov a lot of issues. Temirov isn’t a volume guy as he wins fights off being more durable, landing the knockout blow, or having the bigger moments.

At 125 at the higher level Temirov is going to go up against guys that are fast, high paced, and don’t slow down. If guys could just avoid the power and stay away from those exchanges in the pocket I see Temirov having problems finding his rhythm. Temirov is absolutely a UFC level fighter and brings a lot of excitement to the division. He’s the type of guy you’d expect to sit at the top of the division but can make it further with the abilities he does have.

How he matches up with CJ Vergara

In the UFC, Vergara has won against strikers and has lost to opponents who are primarily grapplers. So he is getting a favorable style match-up. Temirov doesn’t wrestle so I expect a striking affair. Vergara is the cleaner striker. He throws a good jab and more down the middle. The only thing is, he isn’t stringing together punches as he’s a stick and move guy and more selective on what he throws.

That won’t be good enough against Temirov because if you are going strike for strike against him, he’ll land the impactful blows. If Vergara picks up his pace he has the style to piece apart Temirov. I view this fight as a pick ’em and it depends on how Vergara fights. I expect him to fight how he usually fights. I expect it to be close but Temirov will win the moments. What he lands will look and be heavier than what Vergara lands. I have Temirov by decision in this fight.

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