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The UFC visited the Las Vegas APEX last night for its latest Fight Night event. Despite a lack of fanfare, some fighters picked up big wins.
Following UFC Fight Night: Alex Perez vs. Tatsuro Taira, what should come next for these fighters?
As per usual, the promotion's matchmakers have plenty of options to pick from.
Here are five fights to make following UFC Fight Night: Alex Perez vs. Tatsuro Taira.
#5 UFC flyweight bout: Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Joshua Van
June has seen a number of major UFC bouts cancelled, including Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler and Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker.
Nobody would try to argue that the flyweight tilt pitting Tagir Ulanbekov against Joshua Van is on a similar level to those two fights. However, it was still disappointing to see it scratched from last night's event after Ulanbekov missed the 125 pound limit.
The bout pitted two of the flyweight division's best prospects against one another. Van holds a record of 10-1 and has won his last eight bouts, including three in the octagon.
Ulanbekov, meanwhile, is currently ranked at No.12 and is 4-1 in the UFC. He's won his last two bouts and is a training partner of both Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Basically, this was a great piece of matchmaking that would've seen one of these fighters rise up into possible contention, and so it's worth keeping the pairing together.
With any hope, the promotion can put it back together for another Fight Night event in the near future.
#4 UFC featherweight bout: Lucas Almeida vs. Damon Jackson
Brazilian featherweight Lucas Almeida arrested a recent slump last night by outpointing the tough Timothy Cuamba.
Sure, Almeida didn't finish his foe, but he dropped him and took a clear-cut unanimous decision win that couldn't have gone any other way.
Almeida is not a title contender yet at 145 pounds, as his losses to Pat Sabatini and Andre Fili still hang over him. However, he's a dangerous prospect who clearly has talent.
Therefore, a solid match for him next time out could be veteran Damon Jackson. 'The Leech' is 6-3 since returning to the UFC in 2020, and most recently edged out fellow veteran Alexander Hernandez.
With a slick grappling game being his strongest point, Jackson would test Almeida in ways that Cuamba absolutely wasn't able to. More to the point, 'The Leech' tends to see his fights finished early, meaning the chances of some fireworks occurring would be high.
Overall, this would be a perfectly acceptable main card bout for a future Fight Night event.
#3 UFC bantamweight bout: Miles Johns vs. Brady Hiestand
Traditionally, the UFC's matchmakers love to pit fighters who win on the same event against each other somewhere down the line. With that considered, a bout between bantamweights Miles Johns and Brady Hiestand could make a lot of sense.
Both men won handily at last night's event, and while neither is ready for the top level just yet, they are a combined 6-0-1 in their last seven bouts.
Of the two, Hiestand was more impressive last night. 'Bam Bam' survived some scary moments to eventually submit the tough Garrett Armfield with a third round rear naked choke.
'Chapo', meanwhile, outpointed veteran Douglas Silva de Andrade in a fight that was elevated to co-headliner status following the removal of Ikram Aliskerov.
Both of these fighters have solid skills in all areas and appear to be improving with every fight. Therefore, it'd definitely be worth throwing them against one another to see which one could continue moving forward.
#2 UFC flyweight bout: Asu Almabayev vs. Kai Kara-France
Kazakh flyweight prospect Asu Almabayev might not have the most hype around him just yet, but he's clearly a problem for any fighter at 125 pounds.
'Zulfikhar' outpointed the lanky Jose Johnson last night to take his UFC record to 3-0 and his overall MMA record to an impressive 20-2. With seemingly no weaknesses to speak of, it's clearly time for a step up in competition for him.
Thankfully, Almabayev made the kind of call-out that would be perfect for him in his post-fight interview. He stated that he wants former title challenger Kai Kara-France next.
'Don't Blink' currently sits at No.4 in the division, so given Almabayev is not yet ranked, could this be a step too far for him? Perhaps not.
After all, Kara-France has not fought since his loss to Amir Albazi last June, and has not won in the octagon since he beat Askar Askarov in 2022. If anything, his ranking might be inflated.
If Almabayev could beat him, then he'd be elevated into title contention. For 'Don't Blink', meanwhile, if he wants to stay in the title picture, the Kazakh prospect is the type of foe he needs to take out.
Therefore, this would be logical matchmaking, and would be perfect for an event later in 2024.
#1 UFC flyweight bout: Tatsuro Taira vs. Brandon Royval
Last night's biggest winner was undoubtedly Tatsuro Taira. The Japanese flyweight prospect made the leap into title contention by beating former title challenger Alex Perez in the second round.
Taira is now 16-0, with six of those victories coming in the UFC. Sure, he beat Perez via an unfortunate injury, but he's clearly got the talent to take on anyone in this division.
Therefore, his next fight should probably be the final pit stop before a potential shot at the champ. With that in mind, why not match him with Brandon Royval?
'Raw Dawg' fell short in his own attempt to dethrone Alexandre Pantoja in 2023, but bounced back earlier this year with a win over former titleholder Brandon Moreno. Right now, he sits at No.1 in the division.
Royval would be a difficult test for Taira, but his wild style might mesh well with the Japanese star's smoother stylings, and an upset in favor of the prospect could be on the cards.
At the end of the day, Taira is now 6-0 in the octagon, and this is the kind of high-level fight he ought to be pursuing. It'd make for a perfect Fight Night headliner later this year.
