Joshua Van kept the UFC flyweight title at UFC 328, stopping Tatsuro Taira by TKO at 1:32 of Round 5 after a title fight that changed shape almost every round.
Van defended the belt in the co-main event at Prudential Center in Newark. Taira’s grappling gave him strong early moments, including takedowns, mount, and top control. Van’s boxing became the difference later, as he repeatedly hurt Taira with jabs, right hands, uppercuts, knees, and combinations before closing the fight in the fifth.
The win gave Van his first successful title defense after winning the belt from Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 323. It also came on a card where Sean Brady dominated Joaquin Buckley, King Green submitted Jeremy Stephens, and Jim Miller extended his UFC wins record with a guillotine.
Van Survives Taira’s Grappling Before Taking Over Late
Round 1: Taira went to his grappling early. He landed calf kicks, shot for a takedown, and quickly reached mount after Van tried to turn for the back. Van worked out of mount and got back to his feet, where he landed a clean combination. Taira answered by putting him down again and controlling against the fence. Late in the round, Taira secured another takedown straight into mount before Van worked back up near the horn. Taira’s control and repeated takedowns gave him the opening round.
Takedown early for @TatsuroTaira
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— UFC (@ufc) May 10, 2026
Round 2: Taira kept looking for takedowns, but Van defended better early and started finding moments with his hands. Taira landed a knee on the break and later secured another takedown into mount, where he held position but did not create much damage. Van escaped a choke attempt and returned to the feet, then changed the round with a hard right hand that dropped Taira near the end. Van followed with punches from top position, but Taira survived to the horn.
https://x.com/ufc/status/2053316209509380449
A PERFECT RIGHT HAND
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— UFC (@ufc) May 10, 2026
Round 3: Van’s striking took over. He landed fast combinations to the head, hurt Taira with a jab, then followed with a knee and uppercut. Taira’s takedowns slowed, and Van dropped him with a jab before unloading ground-and-pound. Taira’s face was bloodied, and Van briefly went for a rear-naked choke, but he could not finish it. Back on the feet, Van kept landing right hands and jabs. Taira showed toughness by firing back late and scoring a takedown in the final stretch, but Van did the heavier damage in the round.
Round 4: The fight moved into the championship rounds with a key replay showing Van had landed an illegal knee in Round 3 that the referee missed. Taira came out and hurt Van with a calf kick, then got him down again after Van answered with an uppercut. Taira spent a long stretch in top position and reached mount, but he did not land much from there. Van escaped a triangle choke threat and got back to the feet. Taira landed a head kick, while Van continued to score with jabs and right hands. Taira’s control made the round competitive, but Van still did more visible damage whenever they were standing.
THERE IS NO QUIT IN @TatsuroTaira
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— UFC (@ufc) May 10, 2026
Round 5: Van opened the final round with sharp jabs while Taira clearly needed takedowns to slow him down. Taira shot again, but Van defended, landed uppercuts, attacked the body with a kick and punch, then went back upstairs with rights and lefts. Taira was hurt badly, and Van kept throwing until the referee stepped in at 1:32. Taira protested the stoppage, but he was taking clean damage and was in serious trouble.
STILL THE MAN 👏🏆@JoshuaVanBT puts on an INCREDIBLE performance for the RD5 TKO victory!
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— UFC (@ufc) May 10, 2026
https://x.com/ufc/status/2053322753235726597
Dana White told Van before the official announcement that he had won $100,000. Van then told Joe Rogan:
“It feels damn good.”
He also gave Taira respect after the fight, calling him:
“A tough motherf*cker.”
Taira was trying to become the first Japanese fighter to win a UFC title. He had the grappling moments to make the fight difficult, especially early and again in Round 4, but Van’s speed and damage took over. By the final round, the champion had read the entries, defended the key shots, and punished Taira every time the fight stayed upright.
Van remains the UFC flyweight champion, and this defense gives his title reign a cleaner stamp after the injury-shortened Pantoja fight. He survived bad positions, adjusted under pressure, and finished a dangerous challenger in the championship rounds.
