Flyweight contenders will meet inside the UFC Apex this Sunday as Brandon Royval and Tatsuro Taira do battle in the main event of the evening.
It is a fight that will have major ramifications at the top of the rankings in the division and is set to be a high paced and exciting contest.
There are some excellent bouts throughout the entire card and we have our betting plays below.
Brandon Royval vs Tatsuro Taira
Brandon Royval has won eight of his last 11 fights inside the UFC and all three defeats have come against quality opponents.
He lost back to back contests against former champion Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja in 2020/21 but earned another title shot by putting together three wins in a row.
Unfortunately he failed in that title fight against Pantoja via unanimous decision in December last year, but avenged his lost against Moreno in February.
Tatsuro Taira is undefeated in 16 professional MMA fights including six inside the biggest promotion in the world.
12 of his pro wins have been via KO or submission and in a division that is wide open, he can more than likely secure a title shot on the back of a win.
And for that reason I’m backing him in.
3 Units Tatsuro Taira To Win @ $1.42
Brad Tavares vs Park Jun-yong
It’s been an up and down UFC career for Middleweight Brad Tavares since making his UFC debut back in 2011.
12 of his 14 wins inside the UFC have been by decision and he has lost nine times inside the octagon.
He has losses to Yoel Romeo, Robert Whittaker, Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis proving any title aspirations are beyond him but he is very capable.
Park Jun-Yung put together four wins in a row during 2022/23 which included three submission victories.
He lost a very close decision to Andre Muniz in December last year but 11 of his 17 career wins have been via finish.
There is no doubt that if he can get the fight to the canvas, he will have an advantage but Tavares has always been a difficult opponent to takedown.
2 Units Brad Tavares By Decision
Grant Dawson vs Rafa Garcia
Grant Dawson won the first nine fights of his professional MMA career before his first defeat and then went another 12 fights without losing including eight wins in the UFC.
He was knocked out by Bobby Green in brutal fashion in October last year but returned to the winners list with a decision win in June.
Rafa Garcia is a grapple heavy fighter who has eight submission wins from 15 professional MMA fights.
He lost his first two UFC fights but has since gone 4-1 including a decision win over Clay Guida way back in April 2023.
That lay off may play against him and he faces an uphill battle against a quality opponent.
Dawson has too many weapons at his disposal and I envision him getting a finish at some stage in the three rounds.
2 Units Grant Dawson by KO/TKO or Submission