Taira seals win with face crank

Tatsuro Taira returned to winning ways with a second-round submission win over Park Hyun-sung in the flyweight main event of a UFC Fight Night at the Apex Facility in Las Vegas on the morning of Sunday 3 August 2025.

Taira, who moves to 17-1, bounced back from a split decision loss to Brandon Royval in October last year with this victory. Park, who was a late replacement for Amir Albazi, was formerly unbeaten but dropped to 10-1 with his first professional career defeat.

Taira dominated the fight throughout, bossing Park in the grappling exchanges through the first round. He then executed a takedown at the start of the second round, advanced to the back, secured his position with a body triangle and cinched the face crank for the finish at 1:06.

In his post-fight interview, Taira, who is currently sixth in the UFC's flyweight rankings, said he wanted the winner of the upcoming Alexandre Pantoja v Joshua Van UFC flyweight title fight, and laughed off a suggestion from interviewer Michael Bisping that he might need one more win before he gets a title shot.

The rest of the main card saw Chris Duncan defeat Mateusz Rebecki via unanimous decision in the lightweight co-main event; another lightweight match saw Esteban Ribovics outpoint Elves Brener; Karol Rosa did the same against Nora Cornolle in the women’s bantamweight division; Neil Magny scored a second-round knockout of fellow welterweight Elizeu Dos Santos; and Kevin Vallejos got the better of Danny Silva via unanimous decision in the featherweight division.

The UFC continues next weekend with a Fight Night at the same venue on the morning of Sunday 10 August, headlined by a middleweight match between Roman Dolidze and Anthony Hernandez.

UFC Fight Night: Albazi v Taira – Main card results

- Main event: Flyweight: Tatsuro Taira def. Park Hyun-sung via submission (face crank), R2, 1:06

- Lightweight: Chris Duncan def. Mateusz Rebecki via unanimous decision (29-28 29-28 30-27), R3, 5:00

- Lightweight: Esteban Ribovics def. Elves Brener via unanimous decision (29-28 29-28 30-27), R3, 5:00

- Women’s bantamweight: Karol Rosa def. Nora Cornolle via unanimous decision (30-27 29-27 29-27), R3, 5:00

- Welterweight: Neil Magny def. Elizeu Dos Santos via TKO (punches), R2, 4:39

- Featherweight: Kevin Vallejos def. Danny Silva via unanimous decision (29-28 30-27 30-27), R3, 5:00