Tatsuro Taira Sends Message to Alexandre Pantoja, Eyes Historic Fight in Japan

Tatsuro Taira is not building toward a title shot through careful language or diplomatic positioning. He is ready for Alexandre Pantoja, who is recovering from injury. And said so directly while acknowledging exactly what he would be walking into. Ahead of his title fight against Joshua Van at UFC 328, the Japanese fighter shared a message for the former champion.

As per Taira, he has met Pantoja multiple times, and the respect comes from firsthand familiarity rather than promotional courtesy. He called him a great champion and a legendary one in the same breath. Taira added that he is ready to take that championship away and capture the specific kind of competitive respect that exists between fighters.

“I definitely want to fight all of [the top contenders]. What comes first would be going against Pantoja and beating him…Yes, I’m ready [for Pantoja]. Pantoja, I met him a bunch of times. I think he’s a great champ. Definitely a legendary champ but looking at flyweight now. We have a lot of guys are getting here at high speed with a lot of momentum,” Taira said.