Tatsuro Taira has been climbing the ladder at flyweight, but until earlier this year he’d been doing it rather quietly.
The unbeaten Taira, from Japan, won his first five UFC fights, including back-to-back performance bonuses for submissions – all on the prelims. But earlier this year, he made a seemingly out-of-left-field jump to the UFC on ESPN 58 main event in Las Vegas. His second-round TKO of Alex Perez yielded him another $50,000 bonus.
Now he has a second straight headliner coming up when he takes on former title challenger Brandon Royval in the UFC Fight Night 244 main event. A win could give him a chance to make a case for a flyweight title shot.
Ahead of that show, which is set for Oct. 12 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (ESPN+), Taira (16-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) sat down with MMA Junkie Radio and gave a peek into his life outside the cage.
Check out the video above for Taira’s takes on burgers, baseball and more.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.
