Tatsuro Taira impressed on his sophomore UFC appearance last weekend. The 22 year old finished C.J. Vergara in the second round to take his record to 12-0 and underline his potential title credentials.
Most fighters would be happy just to have secured a second UFC win but Taira already has ambitions to challenge for the belt and feels there is extra pressure on him as a result,
“I’m relieved because I want to challenge for the belt so I can’t lose and there’s some pressure.”
Most fighters at the stage of Taira’s career would just be looking to prove that they belonged in the octagon. But the Japanese flyweight is made of more ambitious stuff and wants to be a champion.
#UFCVegas62 Official Result: Tatsuro Taira (@TatsuroTaira) defeats CJ Vergara by submission (Armbar) at 4:19 of Round 2.
All #UFCVegas62 Results & Post-Fight Interviews ➡️: https://t.co/w1SBgC5TKQ
— UFC News (@UFCNews) October 15, 2022
No rush
Of course he will need to work his way up the rankings in order for that to happen and Taira admitted in the post fight press conference that there was no hurry,
“I’m not in a rush too get the title belt, I want to have three (more) fights.”
That is still an ambitious timescale and he would need to beat some ranked opponents in order to make it happen. Taira went the distance with Carlos Candelario on his UFC debut but was able to finish Vergara and was happy to have shown a more ruthless streak,
“One thing that’s good is I could show a really aggressive attitude.”
I think he might be happy 😂
[ @TatsuroTaira | #UFCVegas62 ] pic.twitter.com/rllJGItujk
— UFC (@ufc) October 15, 2022
Undefeated record
Coming in with an undefeated record potentially puts more pressure on Taira and he admits that this is always at the back of his mind,
“I have pressure but this is what I love to do so yes I’m nervous every time I fight but I enjoy it.”
But at the same time Taira is enjoying the moment and this is something he managed to do during the submission win over Vergara at UFC Vegas 62.
“I could hear the corner’s voice and the opponent’s breath and I enjoyed every moment of this fight.”
In-N-Out Burger Get🍔😂🍔#平良達郎#TatsuroTaira#UFCVegas62 pic.twitter.com/47uWjy8kNk
— Atelier Tatsuro Taira【official】 (@tatsuro_ch) October 16, 2022
Taira didn’t bother sticking around for the UFC Vegas 62 main event. He was pictured in a Las Vegas supermarket shopping for a barbeque and food seemed to be on his mind in the post fight press conference.
When asked about what was next he declared that,
“I want to have multiple fights because I’m 22 and I really feel that I’m improving a lot.”
But in the immediate future Taira had another goal and judging from his Twitter feed he has already achieved it,
“I want to go In-N-Out Burger!”
