This last weekend at UFC 323, the top of the heap of the men’s flyweight division saw a drastic change in power. On the main card, former two-time champion Brandon Moreno lost in stunning fashion to surging contender Tatsuro Taira, falling to him by knockout. The win not only bolstered the Japanese’s claim to being the next man in line for the belt, it also made him the first fighter ever to stop “The Assassin Baby” as a professional, either by strikes or tapout.
In the next match after that, dominant 125-lb kingpin Alexandre Pantoja was expected to quell the rise of young challenger Joshua Van. However, just 26 seconds into the first round, the Brazilian unfortunately suffered a devastating arm dislocation, meaning that “The Fearless” won the strap by TKO. Van’s triumph in the cage last Saturday etched his name into the combat sports history books as the second youngest UFC champion in history, behind only Jon Jones. Perhaps bettors should have invested their money into online slots instead?
With this massive shake up at the top of the weight class, flyweight is not presented with some interesting matchup possibilities, for both the new title-holder and the rest of the men vying for their shot at gold. As 2025 comes to a close and new opportunities begin to show themselves on the encroaching horizon, the UFC will have no shortage of fantastic 125-lb bouts to make for upcoming cards next year.
These are the three flyweight fights to make in 2026:
Joshua Van vs. Tatsuro Taira: UFC Flyweight Championship
At UFC 323, both newly-minted flyweight apex Joshua Van and Tatsuro Taira staked their claims to being amongst the best athletes on the UFC roster.
Extending his current win streak to six in a row, Van became the first Burmese competitor to have promotional gold wrapped around their waist. Although fans didn’t get to see much action from the 24-year old in the most important contest of his life, he can still nonetheless lay claim to being called the gold standard of his weight category. Taking into account that he barely took any damage in the bout, it is likely that Van could compete as early as the first quarter of 2026.
As for who deserves to take on the new flyweight ruler next, that honor rightfully belongs to Taira. While he is coming off of the first loss of his professional tenure a mere year ago, the Okinawa native has since rebounded with back-to-back stoppage victories. Starting off by besting the then Park Hyun-sung back in August, he then pulled off arguably the biggest upset on the UFC 323 card by handing Brandon Moreno his first loss inside the distance. Getting a hold of the Mexican’s back, Taira proceeded to batter the previous champion with punches until the referee called off the tilt.
Managing a stupendous highlight-reel finish over a man who once held the flyweight crown on two different occasions, Taira is clearly the next man up to contend for the strap. While the upcoming clash between Brandon Royval and Manel Kape could produce another worthy challenger for that honor, at this moment in time, it is the Japanese by a wide margin.
Another aspect to consider with Taira’s legitimacy to face Van is the fact that Pantoja will probably be out of commission for quite some time while he recovers from his arm injury. In past instances of long-reigning champions losing their belts after lengthy defense streaks, the UFC has often been quick to immediately book the pair in a swift rematch. However, given how Van and Taira hardly received any blows in their respective contests, it only makes sense to have them square off in the near future, so that Pantoja can have ample time to heal and come back in proper form.
Flyweight Fights To Make: Brandon Moreno vs. Kyoji Horiguchi
Taking his first setback by finish at UFC 323, Moreno now finds himself at a precarious crossroads as a top contender at flyweight. Having his previous two-bout winning streak snuffed out in the most tragic of ways, he will have a potentially long road to take on his journey towards recapturing the championship. At the moment, most of the 125-lb upper echelon are either already preparing for a contest, or have just fought, but there exists one foe that, should he manage to topple, may just get the 32-year old back on track on the hunt for gold: Kyoji Horiguchi.
Making his long-awaited return to the Octagon after an extended run of success overseas, Horiguchi made his first UFC appearance in almost a decade this past November at UFC Fight Night 265. His adversary for the occasion was Russian up-and-comer Tagir Ulanbekov, who had won his last four in a row. Looking like one of the best fighters on the planet, Horiguchi dominated Ulanbekov from start to finish in their fight, ultimately submitting him early into the third round.
Given Horiguchi’s colossal return to the promotion, and taking into account his phenomenal stints in RIZIN and Bellator, claiming world championships in both companies, he makes a solid choice to lock horns with Moreno as a test to see if “The Assassin Baby” still has what it takes to challenge for the title. On the flipside, the bout also marks a huge step up in competition for Horiguchi, and if he can take down Moreno, then he can cement his own case for either a championship match or a number one contender opportunity.
Flyweight Fights to Make: Asu Almabayev vs. Tim Elliot
Getting back in the saddle after losing for the first time in the UFC earlier this past March to Manel Kape, Asu Almabayev has quickly rattled off two consecutive victories. Starting with a one-sided thrashing of Jose Ochoa at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. de Ridder, “Zulfikar” capped off a fruitful 2025 by tapping out Alex Perez last month. Heading into the new year, there are a bevy of fun and worthwhile matchups for the streaking contender from Kazakhstan, including one against perennial flyweight great Tim Elliot.
Stepping into the cage at UFC 319 back in August, Elliot produced a mind-boggling upset triumph over recent company debutant Kai Asakura, who had won multiple straps in premier Japanese organization RIZIN. Fighting as a staggering underdog at the event, Elliot showcased his expert Jiu-Jitsu ability by choking out Asakura in the second round, bringing his current stay in the win column to two in a row.
Although Almabayev would be taking a bout with someone lower in the rankings than him, his theoretical match with Elliot could make for an interesting clash between some of the top grapplers in the flyweight division.
