UFC Vegas 93 Results: Tatsuro Taira Enters Top 5 Flyweight Ranking With Stoppage Win Over Alex Perez

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Las Vegas, June 16: Tatsuro Taira entered the top 5 flyweight rankings with a stoppage win over Alex Perez in the main event of UFC Vegas 93: Barboza vs. Murphy at the UFC Apex Facility in Las Vegas on Saturday (June 15).

The 11-fight card saw 3 fights, including the headliner, end in stoppage, while six fights went the distance. Among the 3 stoppage wins, 1 was a technical knockout (TKO), and two were submission finishes.

Sunday's UFC Fight Night was an emotional event for fans across Asia. In his first main event, Japan's Taira put on a masterful, career-defining performance to take the top five ranked position from former title challenger Alex Perez.

Taira also earned a Performance of the Night bonus with the win. However, the prelims story was sombre: Indonesia's Jeka Saragih and China's Shayilan started off strong, but both were caught in submissions by taller, longer opponents.

Apart from Taira, Brady Hiestand also took home an extra USD50K for his submission win on the main card, while there was no fight of the night awarded. Here is the recap for the UFC on ESPN 58 event:

UFC Vegas 93 Recap

In the main event, No. 13 ranked flyweight Taira got his first top five opponent in a matchup with No. 5 ranked Perez. Taira's striking was on point versus the perennial challenger, he smartly used knees in the clinch, and then got an incredible takedown from a standing mount position.

It forced an injury to the weight-bearing knee of Perez, which gave Taira the second round victory by TKO. The win keeps his undefeated record intact, and he launches into the top five rankings.

Leapfrogging closer to a title shot, Taira said, "I'm happy, thank you! I practice boxing a lot, but I found it's something I need to improve more. (That takedown from the back) is a special technique that only I can do."

The Japanese star then alerted the flyweight division as he aimed for a title opportunity, "Flyweight fighters: please line up in front of me, everyone! (UFC flyweight champion Alexandre) Pantojaaaa... Let's go! Title shot!"

After Ikram Aliskerov was moved to replace an injured Khamzat Chimaev against Rob Whittaker in the main event of next week's inaugural card in Saudi Arabia, highly skilled bantamweights Douglas Silva and Miles Johns moved into the co-main event position.

Both men elected to put on a show and trade power punches for three rounds, and Johns found more success with the game plan. Johns was awarded the win on the scorecards.

After the win John said: "I feel like I finally found the Miles Johns that's in the practice room. It took me a while, but I'm here now. There's going to be phase two, so all the bantamweights better watch out. I always want to put on a show, especially because I'm the co-main event, but the real Miles Johns has the heart of a lion."

Also on the main card, Lucas Almeida, Asu Almabayev and Adam Fugitt earned decision wins in their respective bouts, while Hiestand, who bagged the performance of the night award, claimed a submission win over Garrett Armfield.

Earlier in the preliminary card, Josefine Knutsson, Gabriella Fernandes and Nate Maness earned the points on the judges scorecard for decision wins in their respective bouts, while Westin Wilson and Melquizael Costa claimed stoppage wins. Here is a look at the final results of UFC Fight Night:

UFC Vegas 93 Results

• Flyweight Bout: Tatsuro Taira defeated Alex Perez by TKO, Round 2, 2:59
• Bantamweight Bout: Miles Johns defeated Douglas Silva de Andrade by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Featherweight Bout: Lucas Almeida defeated Timmy Cuamba by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Bantamweight Bout: Brady Hiestand defeated Garrett Armfield by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:52 of Round 3
• Flyweight Bout: Asu Almabayev defeated Jose Johnson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Welterweight Bout: Adam Fugitt defeated Josh Quinlan by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Flyweight Bout: Nate Maness defeated Jimmy Flick by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Women's Flyweight Bout: Gabriella Fernandes defeated Carli Judice by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Featherweight Bout: Westin Wilson defeated Jeka Saragih by submission (armbar) at 1:49 of Round 1
• Featherweight Bout: Melquizael Costa defeated Shayilan Nuerdanbieke by submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:50 of Round 3
• Women's Strawweight Bout: Josefine Knutsson defeated Julia Polastri by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)