UFC 327: Flyweight champ Joshua Van reportedly pulls out of Tatsuro Tairo title fight
The co-main event at UFC 327 was going to be Van's first title defense.
UFC 327 just lost its co-main event, as flyweight champion Joshua Van has pulled out from his title fight with challenger Tatsuro Taira according to MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz . The bout was set to be Van’s first title defense and also the first time two Asian-born men have fought for a UFC title. Van’s reason for pulling out remains unknown.
It remains to be seen if Taira remains on the UFC 327 card to face a different opponent or the whole fight gets postponed. The UFC has reportedly been considering its options over the past few days. The main event is still Jiří Procházka against Carlos Ulberg for the light heavyweight title.
Van won the belt in surprising and surreal fashion. After a quick rise through the flyweight ranks, he faced Alexandre Pantoja as an interesting underdog then basically got handed the belt after the champion gruesomely dislocated his shoulder on an awkward fall. A Pantoja rematch would have been a natural choice, but the 35-year-old remains out of commission.
That opened the door for Taira, who is coming off a second-round TKO win over former champion Brandon Moreno at UFC 323, the same event as Pantoja-Van.