Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is just one day away from the upcoming UFC Vegas 93 mixed martial arts (MMA) event, which is set to go down tomorrow night (Sat., June 15, 2024) on ESPN2 and ESPN+ from inside APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring a flyweight main event between Top 15 title contenders Alex Perez and Tatsuro Taira, a five-round headliner with major title implications for late 2024 and beyond.
Before we dive into the main and co-main event, which includes the 185-pound scrap between bantamweight veterans Douglas Silva de Andrade and Miles Johns, check out Andrew Richardson’s “X-Factor” breakdown for the rest of the UFC Vegas 93 main card by clicking here. Get all the latest “Perez vs. Taira” odds and betting props courtesy of DraftKings right here. For UFC Vegas 93 live results and play-by-play click here.
125 lbs.: Alex Perez vs. Tatsuro Taira
Alex Perez
Record: 25-8 | Age: 32 | Betting line: +160
Wins: 6 KO/TKO, 7 SUB, 12 DEC | Losses: 1 KO/TKO, 5 SUB, 2 DEC
Height: 5’6“ | Reach: 65” | Stance: Orthodox
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 4.10 | Striking accuracy: 45%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 3.13 | Striking Defense: 59%
Takedown Average: 2.06 (44% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 82%
Current Ranking: No. 5 | Last fight: Knockout win over Matheus Nicolau
Tatsuro Taira
Record: 15-0 | Age: 24 | Betting line: -192
Wins: 4 KO/TKO, 7 SUB, 4 DEC | Losses: 0 KO/TKO, 0 SUB, 0 DEC
Height: 5’7“ | Reach: 70” | Stance: Orthodox
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 3.51 | Striking accuracy: 71%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 1.15 | Striking Defense: 47%
Takedown Average: 2.12 (41% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 71%
Current Ranking: No. 13 | Last fight: Technical knockout win over Carlos Hernandez
We’re in kind of a weird spot with Alex Perez, who is currently ranked No. 5 at 125 pounds. He’s only a couple of weeks removed from his knockout victory over Matheus Nicolau at UFC Vegas 91, which elevated his stock considerably, but are we supposed to just forget that Perez was coming off three straight losses, with two of them ending by first-round submission? I guess that all depends on how we look at the win over Nicolau and whether or not the Brazilian made a mistake or just had a bad day at the office. How Perez performs tomorrow night in “Sin City” will likely answer that question.
“People ask me, ‘Why did you take this fight? You could’ve got a top-five guy?’ I’m just here to fight,” Perez told reporters during the UFC Vegas 93 media day. “If I keep winning, the title shot will be here. This guy’s a top prospect. He has a lot of hype behind him. I can take his hype when I beat him this weekend. He’s 15-0 for a reason. I know he was a champ outside the UFC. He’s fought really good guys. People are like, ‘Ah, it’s going to be an easy fight.’ He’s tough, very good striker, doesn’t really get hit a lot, very good grappler.”
“Usually a lot of Japanese guys I’ve trained with in the past are very good grapplers and very good strikers,” Perez continued. “They don’t really have that blend. He has that blend. He is a tough guy, he’s very good. If you’ve seen his fights, he’s been able to drop people, been able to sub people, been able to go to decision. I’m excited for the challenge. I want to be the guy that solves that puzzle. The key to victory for me is just go out there and have fun and do my thing. When I’m having fun and when I’m working, no one can beat me.”
Tatsuro Taira has been an exciting new addition to the flyweight division and he could not have come at a better time, especially after Deiveson Figueiredo went to bantamweight and Brandon Moreno took an extended leave of absence. Taira is undefeated at 15-0 and has 11 finishes, along with two “Performance of the Night” bonuses. The only knock against the former Shooto standout is that he’s yet to test himself against the kind of competition that Perez has faced, like Muhammad Mokaev and Alexandre Pantoja. That said, we can only make an educated guess based on what we’ve seen and so far, so good.
“I want to show my technique, skills, everything I have — I always look to do all of it,” Taira told reporters during the UFC Vegas 93 media day. “Alex Perez is well-rounded. He has everything. I can beat him at all aspects. That’s my preparation for this training. My target is Pantoja. Recently he fought five rounds (against Steve Erceg), so I’m going to beat him up in the third round.”
Perez is a gritty, well-rounded veteran with experience against some of the most dangerous fighters at 125 pounds. If he can survive the opening frame, there’s a good chance he can wear Taira down and take over in the second half of the fight. Unfortunately, I think Taira is too strong and too dynamic to let this contest get that far, and I would not be surprised to see him drop Perez before sinking in a fight-ending submission.
Prediction: Taira def. Perez by submission
135 lbs.: Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Miles Johns
Douglas Silva de Andrade “D’Silva”
Record: 29-5, 1 NC | Age: 38 | Betting line: +120
Wins: 20 KO/TKO, 2 SUB, 7 DEC | Losses: 1 KO/TKO, 1 SUB, 3 DEC
Height: 5’7“ | Reach: 68” | Stance: Orthodox
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 3.66 | Striking accuracy: 38%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 3.99 | Striking Defense: 58%
Takedown Average: 0.61 (46% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 70%
Current Ranking: Unranked | Last fight: Unanimous decision win over Cody Stamann
Miles “Chapo” Johns
Record: 14-2, 1 NC | Age: 30 | Betting line: -142
Wins: 4 KO/TKO, 2 SUB, 8 DEC | Losses: 1 KO/TKO, 1 SUB, 0 DEC
Height: 5’7“ | Reach: 66” | Stance: Orthodox
Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute: 3.28 | Striking accuracy: 47%
Strikes Absorbed Per Minute: 2.55 | Striking Defense: 68%
Takedown Average: 1.15 (22% accuracy) | Takedown Defense: 85%
Current Ranking: Unranked | Last fight: Unanimous decision win over Cody Gibson
Welp, the original co-main event was supposed to be the middleweight matchup between Ikram Aliskerov vs. Antonio Trocoli, but Aliskerov was yanked to replace the ailing Khamzat Chimaev at UFC Saudi Arabia (more on that switcheroo here). Taking its place will be the bantamweight showdown between Douglas Silva de Andrade and Miles Johns, which Andrew Richardson already covered in his “X-Factor” preview, so I will drop that below.
Best Win for Johns? Cody Gibson
For de Andrade? Marlon Vera
Current Streak: Both won their last bout
X-Factor: De Andrade is 38 years old
How these two match up: Experienced bantamweight scraps are always fun.
Johns is a wrestler first and foremost, but he’s far from one-note. He also has serious power in his hands, and he’s proven himself comfortable in a brawl. De Andrade, conversely, is a brawler first and foremost, but he also has other skills! The muscled Brazilian is a powerhouse striker who explodes into every strike, for better or worse.
Historically, dragging de Andrade down to the canvas is not the way to defeat him. His athleticism could fade at any point given his age, but he’s generally too strong to contain on the floor. Instead, most of his losses come to sharper strikers, opponents who can punish de Andrade’s brawling habits.
“We’ll see what type of situation it is,” Johns told UFC.com. “I think people give Douglas a little bit more respect and I think once I get this win that there will be some more respect on my name, but there’s still just going to be a question mark because Douglas is 38, which is some BS. Look at Diego Ferreira, look at Derrick Lewis; those dudes are 39 and just picked up huge wins, but I’m going to make it look easy.”
“I’ve done a lot of film studying and outside studying and I think I’ve got a read on the type of guy that he is, and it makes sense for why he’s only fought once a year as of late,” Johns continued. “He’s getting older. He fought Cody Stamann and got that win at 38. Before that, he had a tough outing with Said (Nurmagomedov). So it is difficult to get read a little bit, but I think I understand who he is as a person and as a fighter, and I’m excited about this.”
Is Johns that guy? He’s a good enough wrestler to score the occasional takedown, but he probably winds up in the kind of brawl de Andrade loves. If both are standing in front of each other, whipping power punches, I like the experience and raw power of Andrade to win the day.
He sprawls-and-brawls his way to a tight decision win.
Prediction: Andrade def. Johns by decision
Don’t forget to check out the rest of the UFC Vegas 93 main card predictions RIGHT HERE.
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LIVE! Stream UFC Vegas 93 On ESPN+
MIDDLEWEIGHT MAYHEM! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will return to KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky., on Sat., June 8, 2024, for just the second time in the promotion’s history — and the first time in more than 13 years — for a stacked “Fight Night”-themed event. In UFC Louisville’s main event, top-ranked Middleweight contenders Jared Cannonier (No. 4) and Nassourdine Imavov (No. 7) will look to get in the 185-pound title chase with a pivotal victory. In the co-feature, No. 14-seeded Light Heavyweight contender, Dominick Reyes, returns to action against Dustin Jacoby, in a fun 205-pound showdown.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 93 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN2/ESPN+ preliminary card matchups, which are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining main card balance (also on ESPN2/ESPN+) at 10 p.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 93 news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archives here and here. For the updated and finalized “Perez vs. Taira” fight card and ESPN2/ESPN+ lineup click here.