Joshua Van was too much for Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328. |
Getty/UFC
Joshua
Van and Tatsuro
Taira produced an instant classic at UFC
328.
Van and Taira received “Fight of the Night” honors and $100,000
apiece for their back-and-forth battle in Saturday’s co-main event
at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. After struggle to
defend his opponent’s takedowns early, Van began to assert his
dominance on the feet, ultimately defeating Taira via technical
knockout at the 1:32 mark of Round 5 to retain the 125-pound
belt.
Newcomer, Veteran Nab Checks
Elsewhere, former Bellator
MMA champion Yaroslav
Amosov secured a $100,000 “Performance of the Night” award for
dispatching Joel
Alvarez in a preliminary welterweight contest. Amosov powered
his foe to the canvas in the second frame, immediately transitioned
to an arm-triangle choke and elicited the tapout at the 1:13 mark
of the period.
Finally, beloved veteran Jim Miller
garnered the card’s other $100,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus
for a first-round submission of Jared
Gordon in a preliminary lightweight affair. When Gordon left
his neck exposed on a takedown attempt, Miller capitalized and
locked in a guillotine choke to bring an end to the bout at the
3:29 mark of Round 1.