UFC 323 live blog: Brandon Moreno vs. Tatsuro Taira

This is the UFC 323 live blog for Brandon Moreno vs. Tatsuro Taira, the main card flyweight bout Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Moreno (23-8-2) once again defends his No. 5 spot at 125 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings. “The Assassin Baby” is coming off of wins against would-be contenders Steve Erceg and Amir Albazi, and hopes to earn his chance to become a three-time UFC champion. Deep into his career, Moreno remains a threat to the elite of the division after going to split-decision losses against Brandon Royval and champion Alexandre Pantoja prior to his bounce-back win streak.

Taira (17-1) rebounded nicely from his first loss, defeating Hyun Sung Park this past August to improve to 7-1 inside the octagon. The Japanese grappling specialist doesn’t turn 25 until January and has all the makings of a future champion. The question is whether he’s developed enough at this stage of his career to bump off Moreno.

Check out the UFC 323 live blog for Brandon Moreno vs. Tatsuro Taira below.

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Preamble

We’ve already had two old vs. new matchups on this card, and right now the “geezers” are 0-1-1. Can 31-year-old senior citizen Brandon Moreno hold off the whippersnapper Tatsuro Taira?

Always tell me the odds

Moreno was the underdog for much of the week, but this is almost a pick’em now with Moreno -104 and Taira -122, per FanDuel.

Round 1

Referee Mark Smith on hand for what should be a fun one.

Taira throws the first hard punches of the fight, but Moreno keeps his distance as they whiff harmlessly. Well-timed shot by Taira, gorgeous counter from Moreno as he scrambles on top. Taira out-muscles him and works to get on top, but Moreno with a tight triangle attempt. They’re locked into this position, Moreno making Taira work to find a way out of this.

Taira trying to stack Moreno up while adding in body shots, but there’s not much there. The triangle is loose, great stuff from Taira to keep his composure. Short slam from Taira, Moreno reacts by attacking with the triangle again. This is going to be a weird round to score if the position doesn’t change.

Absolute stalemate, neither man managing significant offense. Taira finally breaks free completely, he attacks the neck and rifles in knees with time ticking down, not much landing with force. Slight nod to Moreno.

MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Moreno.

Round 2

They trade jabs. Moreno with a right hand, but Taira sneaked in an uppercut. Moreno picking up the pace, he scores with a left hook. Taira working a jab. Moreno sprawls to avoid a shot. Taira lands a right and follows up with a takedown, he’s on top with Moreno scrambling. Awesome grappling as Taira adjusts and takes Moreno’s back, locking in a body triangle.

Moreno fighting to control Taira’s arm. Taira gets it free and he’s landing big punches. Moreno on his back and Taira is unloading with ground-and-pound. The referee is watching closely and steps in to wave it off. Moreno not happy with the stoppage, but he was eating some heavy shots.

Official result

Tatsuro Taira def. Brandon Moreno via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:24

Post fight

Taira is asked about the stoppage and he says (via a Japanese translator) that he felt his shots were landing and this is actually his first ground-and-pound knockout.

He then makes his intentions clear in English: “UFC, please give me the title shot, baby!”