UFC Fight Night Preview: Alex Perez vs. Tatsuro Taira

Following visits to Newark, NJ and Louisville, KY the last two weeks, the UFC returns home this Saturday (June 15) for a Fight Night card at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas.

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The Main Event

The main event for UFC Vegas 93 is a massive flyweight tilt between former title challenger Alex Perez and unbeaten contender Tatsuro Taira.

Top 15 flyweights will battle it out this weekend! 💥@AlexPerezMMA vs @TatsuroTaira LIVE this Saturday! #UFCVegas93 pic.twitter.com/gZ4X8vapNy
— UFC (@ufc) June 11, 2024

Perez is returning to the Octagon for the third time in just over three months after he suffered a loss to Muhammad Mokaev but rebounded by knocking out Matheus Nicolau in April. The Brazilian will have his hands full in Las Vegas when he meets Taira, who has already collected five victories in the UFC with three finishes during that span.

Closed the show with a KO his last time out 👊@AlexPerezMMA returns this weekend in a pivotal flyweight main event! #UFCVegas93 pic.twitter.com/v3AHtR08wz
— UFC (@ufc) June 10, 2024

The Co-Main Event

The card’s co-main event is a middleweight matchup between rising talent Ikram Aliskerov and the debuting Antonio Trócoli.

Aliskerov shut the lights out on Hawes 😴 #UFC288 pic.twitter.com/SnP6qRJtZ0
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 6, 2023

“Malvado” is finally set to make his UFC debut after the Brazilian was forced to withdraw from previous bookings against Ovince St. Preux and Oumar Sy. Trócoli has been given a difficult first assignment in Aliskerov, who has already collected a pair of first-round finishes in the UFC after he earned a contract on Contender Series in 2022.

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Fights You Don’t Want To Miss

Garret Armfield vs. Brady Hiestand

UFC Fight Night Preview: Alex Perez vs. Tatsuro Taira — Garret Armfield fights Brad Katona at UFC 297 in Toronto, Canada. | (Dan Hamilton/USA TODAY Sports)

Losses in their respective UFC debuts were quickly forgotten after both Armfield and Hiestand rebounded from those results with back-to-back victories. Both of these bantamweights will be eager to extend their winning run to three fights, and that should translate to one of the night’s more entertaining scraps when the two men square off in Las Vegas.

Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Joshua Van

Ulanbekov was originally linked to a matchup with UFC Vegas 93 headliner Alex Perez, but instead the 32-year-old now faces a dangerous challenge in Van. “The Fearless” has already collected three wins after debuting in the UFC last year, and at just 22 years old he’s being given a massive step up in competition against the #12-ranked Ulanbekov.

Fighters To Watch

Antonio Trócoli

UFC Fight Night: Alex Perez vs. Tatsuro Taira — Antonio Trócoli competed on Dana White's Contender Series in 2019. | (Zuffa LLC)

Stepping in to replace Andre Muniz, Trócoli’s UFC debut will mark the first time the Brazilian has competed since November 2021. That outing saw the 33-year-old pick up a first-round submission after his Contender Series win in 2019 was overturned due to a failed drug test, and although he’s a massive underdog against Aliskerov an upset win could immediately put Trócoli in striking distance of the middleweight rankings.

Josefine Knutsson

The unbeaten strawweight successfully debuted with a win over Marnic Mann last September, and now she’ll welcome Julia Polastri to the Octagon in Las Vegas after the pair were originally set to meet in March. “Thunder” is one of the most promising up and comers in any of the UFC’s female divisions, but she won’t have an easy night against an experienced opponent that’s riding the momentum of three-straight finishes and four wins in a row overall.

Jimmy Flick

Flick’s UFC career got off to a promising start when he submitted Cody Durden with an incredible flying triangle choke in 2020, but after a layoff of more than two years the former LFA champion finally returned last year and suffer back-to-back stoppage losses. “The Brick” returned to the win column with another submission in January, and a victory here against Nate Maness will be important if Flick wants to keep his roster spot in the UFC’s stacked flyweight division.

MMA Knockout will be providing comprehensive coverage for UFC Vegas 93 all throughout fight week, so be sure to check back on our home page for everything from pre-fight predictions to live results and highlights from all the action on fight night.

Main Card (ESPN/ESPN+, 10:00 p.m. ET)

• Main Event: Alex Perez vs. Tatsuro Taira

• Co-Main Event: Ikram Aliskerov vs. Antonio Trócoli

• Lucas Almeida vs. Timmy Cuamba

• Miles Johns vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade

• Asu Almabaev vs. Jose Johnson

• Adam Fugitt vs. Josh Quinlan

Preliminary Card (ESPN/ESPN+, 7:00 p.m. ET)

• Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Joshua Van

• Nate Maness vs. Jimmy Flick

• Garrett Armfield vs. Brady Hiestand

• Carli Judice vs. Gabriella Fernandes

• Jeka Saragih vs. Wetin Wilson

• Julia Polastri vs. Josefine Knutsson

• Shayilan Nuerdanbieke vs. Melquizael Costa

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