I recently started a new series for UFC events called the WagerWire Fighter Spotlight. As part of this series, I’m writing a feature that shines a spotlight on one fighter for each card who I feel deserves a little bit of extra time in the limelight during fight week for one reason or another.

This week’s feature will be on Tatsuro Taira, one of the hottest young prospects in the UFC’s flyweight division. He will be making his third appearance with the promotion when he fights Jesus Aguilar this Saturday at UFC Vegas 68. Taira, who fights out of Okinawa, Japan, is 12–0 as a professional and he has actually won 21 consecutive fights including his 9–0 amateur record. He is 2–0 so far in the UFC and coming off a second round submission win over CJ Vergara in his most recent fight back in October.

The flyweight phenom, who just turned 23-years-old on January 27th, started his amateur mixed martial arts career in 2016 as a 16-year-old. During his run as an amateur, Taira won four fights at the same event during the 11th Kyushu Amateur Shooto Championship Tournament. Taira made the jump to the professional ranks in 2018 and spent a majority of his pre-UFC career with Shooto, which is a promotion based in Japan. Out of his 12 wins as a professional, Taira has found a finish in 75% of those fights, with three knockouts and six submissions. Seven of those stoppages have come inside the first round.

While Taira is obviously a dangerous submission threat, he prefers to work his striking to help get into position to go for takedowns and/or submissions. Through his first two UFC fights, Taira has landed 3.25 strikes for every 1.15 strikes that he absorbs on a per minute basis, meaning he’s outstriking his opponents by an almost 3 to 1 ratio. He also has averaged 2.47 takedowns with just over 3 submission attempts per 15 minutes through his first two fights.

Jesus Aguilar, Taira’s opponent for this weekend, is 8–1 as a professional and will be making his UFC debut after earning a contract on Dana White’s Contenders Series. Aguilar has a 75% submission rate in his victories and has won eight consecutive fights since dropping his pro debut. That loss came as the result of a first round submission via rear-naked choke.

While Aguilar is a solid fighter in his own right, I expect he will struggle this weekend against the size of Taira, who will be noticeably larger in the octagon with 3” height and 7.5” reach advantages in this matchup. I think Taira should be able to work his striking and find success, and should the fight go to the ground, his size and length should help him control the scrambling and grappling exchanges also.

The bookmakers apparently feel pretty strongly about Taira’s chances of winning this weekend as well, with a Moneyline sitting around an average of -1200 depending on which sportsbook you are using. Since Taira and Aguilar will be fighting early on the card (currently slated as the opening fight of the prelims), the books have been slow to open the prop markets for this one.

Although Taira has won four of his past five fights via submission and Aguilar’s sole loss has come via the same method, I’m not sure this one will see a finish, particularly since finishes are typically a bit more rare in the flyweight division than most others. Here are some of the props that I intend to keep an eye on once they open: Over 1.5 Rounds, Taira by Decision, Taira R3/Dec, and possibly a sprinkle on Taira Sub R2/R3 if the value is there.

Check back here or on the WagerWire social media sites closer to this weekend to find out which bets I officially run for this fight once the prop markets are fully opened. In the meantime, feel free to check out our UFC Vegas 68 Quick Preview for this weekend.