Tatsuro
Taira took another significant step toward title contention in
the
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s flyweight division.
The Japanese prospect kept his undefeated record intact in the
UFC on ESPN 58 headliner with a second-round stoppage victory
against former title challenger Alex Perez on
Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. While the fight ended
in unfortunate fashion due to a knee injury, Taira certainly played
a part in making that happen when he wrenched his foe to the canvas
while making Perez carry him like a backpack. With 16 consecutive
victories to begin his professional tenure, Taira has emerged as
one of the most intriguing talents in the sport at 125 pounds.
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Here is a by-the-numbers look at UFC on ESPN 58, with statistics
courtesy of UFCStats.com.
5: Consecutive flyweight victories for Taira, the third-longest
active winning streak in the division behind reigning champ
Alexandre
Pantoja (six) and Muhammad
Mokaev (six). Taira’s overall UFC winning streak stands at six,
with one of those triumphs coming at bantamweight.
41: Significant strikes landed by Perez prior to the injury that
ended his night. By comparison, Taira landed 31. Perez outlanded
his opponent 23 to 17 in Round 1 and 18 to 14 in Round 2.
31: Significant strike deficit — including one knockdown — for
Brady Heistand in the second round of his bantamweight bout against
Garrett
Armfield. Heistand recovered for a rear-naked choke submission
victory at the 1:52 mark of Round 3. Heistand landed six of 13
takedowns, attempted three submissions and logged 5:36 of control
time in victory.
11:24: Total control time for Asu
Almabaev against Jose
Johnson in a unanimous decision triumph at flyweight. The
Kazakhstan native was successful on six of 11 takedown attempts,
attempted four submissions and held a 77-to-58 edge in total
strikes landed.
17: Takedowns landed in three UFC appearances for Almabaev, who has
won his last 16 professional outings overall.
40: Significant body strikes, out of 80 overall, landed by Adam Fugitt
in a split-decision triumph over Josh
Quinlan at welteweight. Quinlan landed 53 significant strikes —
11 to the body — in defeat.
63: Significant head strikes landed by Nathan
Maness in a three-round verdict over Jimmy Flick
at flyweight. Flick, meanwhile, landed just eight significant head
strikes in defeat. Maness held an 89-to-37 edge overall in
significant strikes landed.
288: Combined significant strikes landed by Gabriella
Fernandes (119) and Carli
Judice (169). That ranks as the fifth-highest combined total in
the history of the UFC women’s flyweight division. Fernandes
defeated Judice via split decision in their preliminary bout.
79: Significant strikes landed by Judice in Round 3, the fourth
most all-time in UFC women’s flyweight history. By comparison,
Fernandes landed 35 significant strikes in the frame.
12: Triangle armbar submissions in UFC history after Westin
Wilson used the maneuver to dispatch Jeka
Saragih 1:49 into the opening stanza of their featherweight
bout. Wilson boasts 12 submission triumphs among his 17 career
victories.
1,856: Days since Neurdanbieke Shayilan’s last submission defeat, a
triangle choke loss to Alisson
Barbosa at W.A.R.S. 33 on May 17, 2019. Melquizael
Costa become the first person since then to submit the Chinese
featherweight, as he elicited a tap with a face crank at the 1:50
mark of Round 3.
124: Significant strikes landed by Josefine
Lindgren Knutsson in a unanimous decision triumph over fellow
Dana White’s Contender Series alum Julia
Polastri. By comparison, Polastri landed 64. Knutsson, a
mult-time Swedish muay thai champion, outlanded her foe 61 to 34 in
Round 1, 24 to 5 in Round 2 and 39 to 25 in Round 3.