Tatsuro Taira Reflects on First Pro Loss to Royval
On October 15, 2024, Tatsuro Taira was coming off the first loss of his professional career. Brandon Royval defeated him by split decision in the UFC Vegas 98 main event on October 12. The UFC’s official scorecards show two judges scoring the bout 48–47 for Royval and the third scoring it 48–47 for Taira. The UFC also awarded both fighters Fight of the Night honors.
A Close Five-Round Fight
The split decision reflected a competitive main event. The UFC’s event recap described a back-and-forth fight between the former title challenger and the then-undefeated prospect.
Royval’s Message and Taira’s Response
In the post-fight interview preserved above, Royval praised Taira and offered to help him as he continued his career. The loss proved to be a learning point for Taira: a later UFC profile described how he took lessons from the defeat and treated the experience as part of his development.
What Happened Next
Taira returned to winning form and stopped former champion Brandon Moreno by second-round strikes at UFC 323 in December 2025. In May 2026, Taira challenged Joshua Van for the flyweight title at UFC 328. Van retained the belt with a fifth-round TKO at 1:32, according to the UFC’s official results. Those later fights put the Royval bout in context: it was Taira’s first professional defeat, followed by a title run that included both a significant win and a championship challenge.
Sources
- UFC: Official judges’ scorecards, Royval vs. Taira
- UFC: UFC Vegas 98 bonus winners
- UFC: UFC Vegas 98 main-card results
- UFC: Taira reflects on learning from the loss
- UFC: Tatsuro Taira fight history
- UFC: UFC 328 main-card results
