Overview
- The flyweight belt will be on the line Saturday at UFC 328 in Newark, where champion Joshua Van meets Tatsuro Taira in the co-main event with FanDuel listing Taira as the betting favorite.
- At Wednesday’s media availability, Taira said Van’s title win over Alexandre Pantoja was not a real victory because it ended on an injury, and Van replied that the rematch over true supremacy comes this weekend.
- Van captured the title in December when Pantoja dislocated his elbow 26 seconds into their bout, and after a short postponement from UFC 327 due to an undisclosed injury, Van says he is fully ready to defend.
- The matchup marks the UFC’s first title fight between two athletes born in the 2000s and the first men’s title fight featuring two fighters born in Asia, with Taira able to secure Japan’s first undisputed UFC crown.
- Predictions are split as betting markets lean Taira while a BJPENN.com poll of pros tilts to Van, and the winner could draw former long-reigning champion Pantoja next given his stated readiness to return.