4 mostsignificant takeaways from UFC Fight Night 233: The fallout of Khalil Rountree penalizing Anthony Smith

23-year-old Tatsuro Taira continues to screen flashes of sparkle as he constructs his resume and experience level inside the octagon.

Taira (15-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) is probably the most engaging possibility in the UFC flyweight department right now, and his unbeaten record just includes to the intrigue. Over his veryfirst 4 octagon looks, Taira relied greatly on his grappling. That was the case onceagain in Round 1 of his battle with Carlos Hernandez, however then he revealed another layer to his videogame in Round 2 when he smashed his challenger with a substantial shot on the feet to set up the TKO.

There’s no doubt Taira is presently MMA’s top hope for a Japanese UFC champ, and the door appears large open at 125 pounds to make a run. There’s some extremely knowledgeable fighters ranked above him, nevertheless, and we requirement to start seeing him battle some of those names before we make a complete statement on his ceiling.

After Tim Elliott scored what was, rather honestly, one of the more remarkable wins of his UFC profession by sending Su Mudaerji on simply 5 days’ notification, he provided one of the most truthful post-fight interviews you’ll ever hear.

Anyone who has followed Elliott’s (20-14-1 MMA, 9-11 UFC) profession understands he has constantly been an open book. Anyone who has really followed him thorough understands that’s specifically real. So the truth he stated he’s no longer a practical title competitor and simply desires to be a trusted performer for the promo, is decent.

Paul Felder attempted to pump Elliot’s tires a bit by stating he might still be a title run, however Elliott remained grounded in what he understands to be his truth. Could he have a unique night and beat the finest flyweight out there? Sure. But browsing through the hard battles at 125 pounds on the increase up is the mostsignificant issue, as we saw versus Muhammad Mokaev at UFC 29