Sports

Tatsuro Taira Looks Like the Future of Flyweight
By James Moreau | 06 Dec, 2025

UFC submission ace Tatsuro Taira enters a high-stakes matchup against former champion Brandon Moreno as the betting favorite at UFC 323.

Japanese MMA fighter Tatsuro Taira burst onto the global scene in 2022 and established himself as a dominant force in the UFC Flyweight division.

The 25-year-old holds a professional fighting record of 17 wins and 1 loss, with 5 wins coming by knockout and 8 by submission.

Taira’s UFC debut came in May 2022 at UFC on ESPN 36 versus Carlos Candelario.  The fight went the distance but ended in a unanimous decision for Taira.

Taira’s peerless ground game earned Performance of the Night bonuses in his next two fights – first against C.J. Vergara through armbar submission, a favorite grappling technique, followed by triangle armbar versus Jesús Santos Aguilar in the first round.

In June 2024 Taira headlined his first UFC fight against Alex Perez.  He won by TKO with a brutal leg kick on his way to a third Performance of the Night declaration.

His only loss came in October 2024 in split decision against Brandon Royval after 25 minutes of fighting.

Taira bounced back this August against Park Hyun-sung after applying a face crank submission in the second round.

He’s now climbed his way to the number five contender slot in the Flyweight division and is looking to earn his eighth UFC win against Brandon Moreno in Saturday’s UFC 323.

Moreno, a former champion, is rated higher – second in the Flyweight division – betting lines slightly favor Taira.  Moreno is an experienced pressure fighter that will want to utilize his striking capabilities.  Taira’s path to victory will be to turn the fight into a grappling match.

The Naha, Okinawa native started training at age 15 with his brother across the disciplines of Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.