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UFC Fight Night: Perez v Taira — Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Last night (Sat., June 15, 2024), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned home to UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC Vegas 93. Sadly, the card really fell apart in the final 36 hours. Two of the best fights on the whole card were cancelled, which left an already thin card looking downright anemic. Really, all eyes were on the Flyweight main event between Alex Perez and Tatsuro Taira, which was the only fight with an actual impact on its division.

All the same, let’s take a look back over at UFC Vegas 93’s best performances and techniques:

Technical Savagery

Tatsuro Taira is very clearly the best hope for a Japanese UFC champion.

Opposite a game contender and former title challenger in Alex Perez, Taira showed off all the talent that makes him special. He’s not known as a kickboxer, but Taira looked plenty sharp on the feet. He did well to brush off Perez’s lands, and he quickly picked up the timing of Perez’s blitz. When Perez surged forward, Taira met his advance with hard right hand and right uppercut counters, as well double-collar tie knees. Between those exchanges, Taira managed distance well with the jab and calf kick.

It was competitive on the feet until Taira opted to wrestle. Almost immediately, he was on Perez’s back standing. Using the body triangle, Taira was able to trip up Perez’s leg. That’s a common enough strategy, but Taira expanded upon it by securing one wrist across the body and leaning backwards, intending to trip Perez to the floor. It worked, partially because Perez’s knee exploded in the process!

It was a nasty sequence, one clearly initiated by the Japanese talent. Nobody can paint this one as a freak injury — Perez should’ve just fallen over and accepted that the fight was going to the floor, but hindsight is of course 20/20. Either way, Taira will be ranked inside the Top 10 in just a couple days, and at 24 years of age, he looks ready for the division’s best.

Bantamweight Brings The Card Back To Life

Brady Hiestand vs. Garrett Armfield was so much better than any fight that came before it. Even on the worst nights, the Bantamweight division delivers the good.

Hiestand really impressed from the first bell. Right away, he was mixing all his offense together. Routinely, he would show the level change, fire a punch, and follow up with clinch offense. He showed several interesting setups off the left hook, following the punch with a left kick or left knee thrown almost as the same time. That trickery allowed him to get his wrestling going, and both men nearly forced the other to submit when changing positions on the floor.

Armfield got Hiestand back in the second, however. Despite nearly getting choked out to end the first and looking downright exhausted, he came out firing, sticking Hiestand with hard straight punches. Hiestand was out on his feet then out on the canvas, but he somehow managed to survive the onslaught. Not only that, but he got back into the fight with his wrestling and returned to scrapping when on his feet.

Everything was up for grabs with five minutes remaining, and Hiestand just refused to be denied. Despite obvious exhaustion from both, Hiestand was able to push Armfield into the fence, sneak behind him, and land a big slam. He jumped on the neck yet again, and this time, there would be no miraculous hand-fighting from the boxer.

A great fight from start-to-finish that raised the stocks of both in my eyes.

A Flyweight First

At 6’ tall, Jose Johnson made UFC history as the tallest Flyweight yet. Unfortunately for him, Asu Almabayev was more than prepared. It was a dicey couple minutes for Almabayev as he tried to navigate the range early on, but a caught kick proved the perfect takedown opportunity.

I doubt many enjoyed watching Almabayev’s grinding wrestling style, but his transitions really stood out to me. He can chain takedowns together really well, and his ability to hunt the back during scrambles was really impressive. Johnson’s size and submission game from bottom gave Almabayev some trouble, but he still managed to take his back and nearly choke him out on several occasions.

Now 3-0 in the UFC, Almabayev looks ready for a Top 10 opponent.

Additional Thoughts

Westin Wilson defeats Jeka Saragih via first-round triangle-armbar (highlights): This was a fun fight for as long as it lasted! Saragih started fast, aiming to hand Wilson his third-straight knockout losses. Wilson flipped the script with a committed wrestling attack, however, getting Saragih down early. Wilson attacked a triangle, and Saragih tried to slam his way out of the hold. When that failed, Wilson transitioned to an armbar and forced the finish, likely saving his UFC career in the process.
Melquizael Costa defeats Shayilan Nuerdanbieke via third-round rear naked choke: This was a reasonably fun grappling match. Nuerdanbieke was really insistent on his double leg takedown and did score some decent positions, but he exhausted himself trying to overpower Costa. Conversely, Costa was able to outlast his opponent without taking much damage, and when given the opportunity to turn the tables, he capitalized with creative grappling and a quick submission win.

For complete UFC Vegas 93: “Perez vs. Taira” results and play-by-play, click HERE!