'Face covered in blood → tragic reversal defeat' Japan's historic dream, 8th attempt also fails "He was truly a tenacious fighter..."

*This content was translated by AI.

The birth of Japan's first-ever UFC champion ultimately did not come to pass. As 'Fighter Prince' Taira Tatsuro (26, Japan), ranked third, fell to a barrage of punches from Joshua Van (24, USA), fans in Japan expressed a mix of regret and a stark realization of the high wall at the world's elite stage.

On the 10th (Korea time), Taira lost via TKO to champion Van in the co-main event flyweight title bout at 'UFC 328' held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, USA, in just 1 minute and 32 seconds of the fifth round. With this loss, Japan's hope for the first-ever male UFC champion from Japan is pushed to another day.

Regret and disappointment are pouring in across Japan. The Japanese media outlet 'Daily' reported, "Tatsuro lost to Van, a champion of Burmese descent, failing to become Japan's first UFC king."

Fan reactions on 'Yahoo Japan' and other platforms were equally sorrowful. Fans expressed their regret with comments such as, "The early flow was perfect, but one punch in the second round changed everything," and "We painfully realized that even the slightest opening is not tolerated at the UFC's elite level."

The match was fierce. From the start of the first round, Taira, leveraging his signature grappling, attacked Van. It seemed Taira's grappling hell would continue until the middle of the second round, but 30 seconds before the round ended, he allowed a powerful right hook from Van, causing him to wobble significantly.

In the third round, Van's barrage of punches repeatedly struck Taira's face. Van even attempted a rear-naked choke to seize control. In the fourth round, Taira tried to turn the tide by using calf kicks to regain mount and attempt a triangle choke, but continuous bleeding blurred his vision, and the crisis persisted.

In the fateful fifth round, Taira attempted a takedown to force a comeback but ultimately failed to break through Van's solid defense. Van pressed forward with body shots and a flurry of right-hand strikes. When Taira finally dropped to his knees, the referee stopped the fight. At the moment defeat was confirmed, Taira threw his mouthpiece aside, revealing his deep regret.

According to the sports specialty media 'ESPN', after winning against Taira, Van stated, "I said I would finish Taira within the third round. I almost achieved my goal, but Taira was truly a tenacious fighter." He added, "My coach told me to finish Taira with body shots. As soon as I did that, the fight ended."

With this loss, Taira Tatsuro suffered his first career TKO defeat. The Japanese fighting community, following Kondo Yuki, Okami Yushin, and Horikuchi Kyoji, failed to secure a title with Taira as well, unable to break the cruel streak of 'no UFC titles for Japan.' 'Daily' noted, "Taira suffered a tragic defeat with his face covered in blood," and added, "This means Japan's eighth attempt at a UFC championship has also ended in failure."

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*This content was translated by AI.