As a result of those changes, Alex Perez will now square off against Tatsuro Taira in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card on June 15. Perez was originally scheduled to face Tagir Ulanbekov at the event, while Taira was supposed to face Joshua Van at UFC 302 on June 1. Now, Ulanbekov and Van will lock horns on June 15. Multiple outlets confirmed the new 125-pound pairings following an initial report from Marcel Dorff.
Perez snapped a three-bout skid in his last outing, as he knocked out Matheus Nicolau in the second round of the UFC on ESPN 55 headliner. The former title challenger is 7-4 during his stint with the Las Vegas-based promotion.
The 24-year-old Taira has kicked off his Octagon tenure with five consecutive triumphs to raise his overall professional mark to 15-0. The Okinawa, Japan, native capped off a 3-0 campaign in 2023 with a second-round TKO of Carlos Hernandez at UFC Fight Night 233 on Dec. 9.
Russia’s Ulanbekov has been victorious in four of his first five UFC appearances. Most recently, the former Fight Nights Global title holder submitted Cody Durden in the second round of their UFC 296 encounter this past December.
Another intriguing flyweight prospect, Van has earned successive triumphs over Zhalgas Zhumagulov, Kevin Borjas and Felipe Bunes to begin his UFC career. The 22-year-old Fury Fighting Championship veteran is 10-1 as a professional, with eight of those victories coming inside the distance.