UFC 328 results: Joshua Van stops Tatsuro Taira with late TKO in thrilling Fight of the Year contender

· Yahoo Sports

The youngest champion in the UFC has his first title defense.

Visit sportbet.rodeo for more information.

Flyweight belt-holder Joshua Van took out challenger Tatsuro Taira in a wild back-and-forth bout at UFC 328, notching the win via fifth-round TKO. Taira didn’t love the finish, but he was clearly in an unreasonable amount of trouble.

The bout had the distinction of being the youngest title fight in UFC history with the 24-year-old Van and 26-year-old Taira. It was also the first time two Asian-born men fight for a UFC title.

Taira seemed to hold the advantage for most of the first two rounds, landing multiple takedowns and handily winning the ground control game. He didn’t do much with that control, however, and the fight soon turned when Taira went for a kick and Van responded by leveling him with a hard right square to the face.

The fight could have ended there had there been more than 30 seconds left on the clock, but Taira managed to survive.

That wound up being a sign of things to come in the third round. Van landed power shots at will over the first four minutes and had a prime opportunity to end it via submission at one point. Taira survived, however, and mitigated the threat over the last minute with a successful takedown.

The fourth round might have been the closest, with Van still holding the advantage standing up while Taira had him on the ground a couple times. And then the finish in the fifth, which was the culmination of several minutes of punishment.

This article will be updated with more information.

Read full story at source