4 Fights We Need to See After UFC on ESPN 58
You could be forgiven for missing this Saturday's UFC on ESPN 58 card.
By the time it kicked off at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, most fans were still reeling from the news that both Conor McGregor and Khamzat Chimaev were out of their upcoming fights. After all that disappointment, some were probably considering giving up on MMA altogether.
However, those who tuned in on Saturday were rewarded with a solid night of action, one that greatly altered the landscape in the UFC flyweight division.
The Vegas card was headlined by a flyweight contest between Alex Perez, who was looking to make it two in a row after a stunning KO of Matheus Nicolau, and undefeated Japanese prospect Tatsuro Taira, who stepped in to replace Tagir Ulanbekov.
Heading into the bout, Taira had yet to fight a top-10 opponent, which made the fifth-ranked Perez a gargantuan step up in competition, but the Japanese star rose to the occasion, pushing the pace until a knee injury forced his foe opponent out of the fight in Round 2.
Taira was the biggest winner of the night, but he isn't the only one who can look forward to an interesting offer when the UFC matchmakers click send on his next bout agreement.
Scroll on for the fights that should be made after Saturday's under-the-radar card in Las Vegas.
Tatsuro Taira vs. Amir Albazi
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Alex Perez was originally supposed to fight Russia's Tagir Ulanbekov on Saturday. When that matchup fell through, the opportunity to face Perez was offered to Tatsuro Taira, who, despite being 15-0 overall, had barely gotten his feet wet in the UFC's flyweight Top 15.
It was a massive a step up for Taira, and it would be inaccurate to say he passed it with flying colors. While he had a great first round against Perez, he also ate some hard shots in the opening minutes, and only won in the second when his opponent suffered a career-altering knee injury.
This isn't to say Taira wouldn't have beaten Perez had the fight continued or that he isn't a future champion, but the truth is his big step up on Saturday left a lot of questions.
Nonetheless the 24-year-old will likely land around No. 6 or 7 when the flyweight rankings are updated this week.
Ordinarily, fighters have to battle their way through the outer edges of the top 15 to get to that position, but Taira will rise quickly, because his short-notice showdown with Perez went well. Wherever the rankers place him, he's probably only a win a or two at most away from a title shot and the chance to become Japan's first undisputed UFC champ.
My first thought after Saturday's card was that Taira should be matched up with Australia's Steve Erceg, who recently lost a debatable decision to champion Alexandre Pantoja in a title fight.
Then Dana White seemed to accidentally leak part of the main card of August's UFC 305 event in Perth, Australia, and it looks like there's plans to match Erceg up with New Zealand's Kai Kara-France.
With Erceg off the table, it's also tempting to match up Taira with former champ Brandon Moreno, who had a split-decision loss to Brandon Royval after losing the title to Pantoja last year. However, Moreno seems intent on taking some time off, so the best choice is to match Taira up with Amir Albazi.
At 17-1, the third-ranked 30-year-old Albazi has a similar record to the 16-0 Taira. In his last fight, the Iraqi defeated Kara-France by split-decision, but the win was debatable.
Book these two for a pay-per-view main card somewhere outside North America, and give the winner a title shot.
Alex Perez vs. Matt Schnell
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Alex Perez didn't get the outcome he wanted in his fight with Tatsuro Taira, but he performed well until it ended. And the somewhat flukey circumstances of his loss will ensure he doesn't lose to much ground in defeat.
The Californian has been a part of the flyweight Top 10 for several years. That means he will most likely be offered another top-ranked foe next time out, even if he just lost to a young fighter who just entered the rankings.
This seems all the more likely when you consider the fact that, despite being a veteran of the rankings, Perez has yet to fight many of the UFC's top flyweights, having been cursed by cancelled fights, with 10 foiled matchups since 2020.
He has options.
Of all the options available, the best seems to be a fight with the No. 11-ranked Matt Schnell. He hasn't fought since he was knocked out by Steve Erceg in March, but he should be ready to fight again soon. He has been matched up with Perez a ridiculous four times to no avail, and would surely jump at another chance to meet the former title challenger in the cage.
The only variable is the extent of Perez's knee injury. He may be out for a while, and if he is, there's no telling who he'll be matched up when he's ready to return.
The rankings change quickly in the UFC—particularly at flyweight, where the belt has been tossed around like a hot potato since Demetrious Johnson set off for ONE Championship in 2018.
Miles Johns vs. Cody Garbrandt
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Miles Johns has never really turned heads at bantamweight, but he has quietly put together a three-fight win streak over solid competition, his latest being a decision defeat of Douglas Silva de Andrade in Vegas on Saturday. That's the recipe for a step up in competition.
A few years ago, it would have been ludicrous to suggest the 30-year-old Fortis MMA product be matched up with a former champ like Cody Garbrandt, but "No Love" has been maddeningly inconsistent of late, going 3-5 since he lost his title to TJ Dillashaw in 2017.
Garbrandt's latest Octagon appearance saw him matched up with former flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo. After back-to-back wins over Trevin Jones and Brian Kelleher, it was his chance to rocket back into the bantamweight rankings, but it ended in disaster when he was submitted in Round 2.
At this point, it's doubtful Garbrandt gets back into the bantamweight Top 15, let alone returns to title contention. If he wants to make it happen, he's going to have to beat a few unranked foes, and a fight with the rising Johns seems like just the ticket.
A Johns vs. Garbrandt fight would make a great addition to any Fight Night main card or PPV undercard, and it would tell us a lot about where both guys belong in the bantamweight pecking order as of 2024.
It's also a great fight on paper, as both have both have excellent boxing skills. Book it.
Brady Hiestand vs. Aiemann Zahabi
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After a promising stint on The Ultimate Fighter, Brady Hiestand made his UFC debut in 2021, only to lose a split decision to Ricky Turcios.
That loss wasn't a death knell for his MMA career, but it was a tough moment for a young fighter, and it wouldn't have been surprising to see him spiral into a losing streak and ultimately leave the UFC from there.
Instead, Hiestand has rebounded with three straight wins, including two finishes. The latest was a third-round submission of Garrett Armfield at Saturday's card in Vegas—an impressive win that anybody with a certain sense of humor will appreciate all the more.
It's still too early to make any definitive statements about Hiestand's future in the packed bantamweight division. Even after three impressive wins, it's possible he will fizzle out and become an afterthought.
However, the Sikjitsu representative is still only 25, so he has plenty of time to evolve, and he may become a legitimate contender in the weight class before all is said and done.
It will all depend on the outcomes of his next few fights.
Because Hiestand is a fairly fresh face in the UFC, there are dozens of options for his next opponent. My pick would be Aiemann Zahabi.
Zahabi is the younger brother of famed MMA coach Firas Zahabi, who helped the likes of Georges St-Pierre and Rory MacDonald win belts in the UFC and Bellator respectively.
At 36, Zahabi is in a different phase of his career than Hiestand, but he's won four straight and looks like just the right kind of opponent for the 25-year-old.
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