Tatsuro Taira extended his unbeaten mark to 16-0-0 with a second-round technical knockout of Alex Perez, who sustained a leg injury in their main event flyweight bout at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Perez (25-9-0), of the U.S., began the night as UFC’s fifth-ranked flyweight contender, while Taira, sitting 13th, was looking to break into the top 10. After his win, Taira, of Japan, called for a shot at flyweight titleholder Alexandre Pantoja. It would be Taira’s first opportunity in a title bout.
Perez led in total strikes (45-43) and significant strikes (41-31).
In a bantamweight co-main event, Miles Johns of the U.S. won a decision over Douglas Silva de Andrade of Brazil.
Johns (15-2-0) won his fourth straight match, while Silva de Andrade (29-6-0) lost for the second time in his last three fights. Johns landed 52 total strikes to 36 for Silva de Andrade, and he led in significant strikes as well, 50-36.
Also, featherweight Lucas Almeida of Brazil defeated Timothy Cuamba of the U.S. by decision.
Almeida improved to 15-3-0, while Cuamba fell to 8-3-0.
–Field Level Media
