LAS VEGAS – Tatsuro Taira gave Jesus Aguilar a rude welcome to the octagon Saturday with a slick finish in the opening bout at UFC Fight Night 218.
Taira (13-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC), a highly touted flyweight prospect from Japan, kept his undefeated record intact with a triangle-armbar submission finish over Aguilar (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at the 4:20 mark of Round 1 of the fight at the UFC Apex.
Aguilar attempted to submit Taira with a guillotine choke early on in the fight, but he managed to counter, get on top, move into mount, then flip into the triangle choke. He couldn’t get it, but then switched to the armbar to get it done.
Check out the replay of Taira’s finish below (via Twitter):
TATSURO TAIRA STAY UNDEFEATED
He subs Aguilar in one at #UFCVegas68! 💪
[ Live now on @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/86bNWs04dP
— UFC (@ufc) February 5, 2023
In case you were wondering, @tatsurotaira is happy with the win! 😅 #UFCVegas68 pic.twitter.com/yeQPE6z9YP
— UFC (@ufc) February 5, 2023
With the win, Taira has now stopped his opponent inside the distance in 10 of his 13 career triumphs. He told Michael Bisping in his post-fight interview that he intends to keep climbing the ladder until he becomes 125-pound champ.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 218.