{"id":496068,"date":"2026-02-22T04:30:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T04:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/496068\/"},"modified":"2026-02-22T04:30:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T04:30:08","slug":"ufc-passes-over-injured-ex-champion-for-massive-ufc-327-title-fight-in-miami","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/496068\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC Passes Over Injured Ex-Champion For Massive UFC 327 Title Fight in Miami"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"4w\">UFC Flyweight Champion Joshua Van officially has his first title defense booked, and it isn\u2019t an immediate rematch with Alexandre Pantoja. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"4z\">Still just 24 years old, Van took the momentum of five-straight wins into a title shot against longtime flyweight king Pantoja at UFC 323 and won the 125 lbs. title in shocking fashion when \u201cThe Cannibal\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/ufc-323-title-fight-cut-short-alexandre-pantoja-disgusting-arm-break\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">suffered a nasty arm injury<\/a> just 26 seconds into the highly-anticipated matchup. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"52\">Fans were waiting to see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/alexandre-pantoja-major-health-update-losing-ufc-belt-brutal-injury\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">if the UFC might give Pantoja some time to recover<\/a> and book an immediate rematch after the anticlimactic way that the Brazilian lost his title, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/ufc-fight-night-houston-live-stream-results-highlights-strickland-vs-hernandez\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">during the broadcast for UFC Houston<\/a> the promotion revealed that Van will defend his belt against Tatsuro Taira at UFC 327. <\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The 305 is heating up \ud83c\udf34<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JoshuaVanBT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@JoshuaVanBT<\/a> seeks his first title defense against <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tatsurotaira?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@TatsuroTaira<\/a> on April 11th!<\/p>\n<p>[ <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/UFC327?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#UFC327<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/paramountplus?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@ParamountPlus<\/a> ] <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2eruizfcXz\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/2eruizfcXz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 UFC (@ufc) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ufc\/status\/2025396323793731671?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">February 22, 2026<\/a>Tatsuro Taira Gets Title Shot After Finishing UFC Champion<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5b\">Currently sitting at #3 in the UFC flyweight rankings, Taira joined the UFC as an unbeaten talent in 2022 and extended his professional record to 16-0 when he won six-straight fights to kick off his time with the promotion. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5e\">READ MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/ufc-returns-winnipeg-huge-main-event-ufc-fight-night-card-malott-burns\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">UFC Returns to Winnipeg &amp; Reveals Huge Main Event for UFC Fight Night Card<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5h\">A UFC Fight Night main event against Brandon Royval in 2024 saw Taira suffer his first loss via split decision, although he did take home a post-fight bonus for putting on a \u201cFight of the Night\u201d showing against Royval. The 26-year-old rebounded from that setback last August when he submitted the formerly-undefeated Hyun Sung Park, who was stepping in to replace top-ranked flyweight contender Amir Albazi. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/01kj1np0wz0dttzedcw3.jpg\" alt=\"Tatsuro Taira (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Brandon Moreno (red gloves) during UFC 323 at T-Mobile Arena.\" title=\"Tatsuro Taira (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Brandon Moreno (red gloves) during UFC 323 at T-Mobile Arena.\" width=\"5057\" height=\"3371\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"5r\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Tatsuro Taira (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Brandon Moreno (red gloves) during UFC 323 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5v\">A UFC 323 matchup with Brandon Moreno saw Taira scored a controversial second-round finish against the two-time flyweight titleholder, but that win was enough for the UFC to give the Japanese star his first UFC title shot at UFC 327. <\/p>\n<p>Joshua Van Returns To Defend Belt After Incredible 2025<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"61\">All signs seemed to be pointing towards #2-ranked Manel Kape as Van\u2019s first title challenger with Pantoja sidelined, as the two men <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/ufc-snub-injured-champion-title-fight-grudge-match-van-kape-pantoja\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">have been engaging in an online war of words<\/a> that began last year. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"64\">READ MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/undefeated-ufc-star-batters-unconscious-opponent-sickening-ko-houston\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Undefeated UFC Star Batters Unconscious Opponent for Sickening KO at UFC Houston<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"67\">With Kape now stuck waiting for his shot at UFC gold, Van will try to extend his winning run to seven fights when he enters the cage to defend his flyweight belt against Taira. \u201cThe Fearless\u201d began his UFC career with three-straight wins before being knocked out by Charles Johnson, but upon his return the 24-year-old went on an absolute tear that included two wins in less than a month before he challenged Pantoja at UFC 323. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/01kj1nr4c54jrgbtkbza.jpg\" alt=\"Joshua Van (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Alexandre Pantoja (red gloves) during UFC 323 at T-Mobile Arena.\" title=\"Joshua Van (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Alexandre Pantoja (red gloves) during UFC 323 at T-Mobile Arena.\" width=\"5230\" height=\"3486\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"6h\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Joshua Van (blue gloves) reacts after the fight against Alexandre Pantoja (red gloves) during UFC 323 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6l\">Fans <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/mma\/news\/ufc-327-banger-fight-fans-wait-miami-main-event-randy-brown-kevin-holland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">have been waiting to find out what title fight <\/a>(or fights) would be on offer for the promotion&#8217;s return to Miami on April 11, and Van vs. Taira now tops a UFC 327 card that has added a number of intriguing bouts over the last month.  <\/p>\n<p>UFC 327 Fight Card <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-17\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6r\">\u2022\tJoshua Van vs. Tatsuro Taira<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tDominick Reyes vs. Johnny Walker<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tTatiana Suarez vs. Lupita Godinez<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tAzamat Murzakanov vs. Paulo Costa<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tCub Swanson vs. Nate Landwehr<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tKyle Daukaus vs. Vicente Luque<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tKevin Holland vs. Randy Brown<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UFC Flyweight Champion Joshua Van officially has his first title defense booked, and it isn\u2019t an immediate rematch&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":496069,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,85],"class_list":["post-496068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=496068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/496069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}