UFC on ESPN: Perez vs. Taira

UFC on ESPN: Perez vs. Taira (also known as UFC on ESPN 58 and UFC Vegas 93) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 15, 2024, at the UFC Apex facility, in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.^[2]

UFC on ESPN: Perez vs. Taira
The poster for UFC on ESPN: Perez vs. Taira
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	June 15, 2024 (2024-06-15)
Venue	UFC Apex
City	Enterprise, Nevada, United States
Attendance	Not announced[1]
Event chronology
UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Imavov UFC on ESPN: Perez vs. Taira UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. Aliskerov

Background

This was the 100th event the promotion hosted at the UFC Apex. The UFC started hosting events at the venue in May 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, originally behind closed doors, before changing their approach to a limited set of tickets per event in July 2021.^[2]

A flyweight bout between former UFC Flyweight Championship challenger Alex Perez and Tatsuro Taira headlined the event.^[3] Perez was originally expected to face Tagir Ulanbekov^[4] However, he was pulled in order to serve as replacement and headline UFC on ESPN: Nicolau vs. Perez in April.^[5] In turn on April 30, it was reported that the fight between Perez and Ulanbekov was back on for this event.^[6] After Perez was moved to the headliner spot, the promotion opted to book Ulanbekov against Joshua Van, who was Taira's original opponent at UFC 302.^[3] However, the bout was cancelled when Ulanbekov weighed in at 129.5 pounds, three and a half pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit.^[7]

A women's strawweight bout between former LFA Women's Strawweight Champion Julia Polastri and Josefine Lindgren Knutsson took place at the event.^[8] They were originally scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gaziev but the bout was scrapped when Knutsson pulled out due to injury.^[9]

A heavyweight bout between former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski and Martin Buday was scheduled for this event.^[10] However, the bout was moved to UFC 303 for unknown reasons.^[11]

A middleweight bout between André Muniz and Ikram Aliskerov was expected to take place at the event.^[12] However, Muniz withdrew due to a foot injury.^[13] He was replaced by Antonio Trócoli.^[14] In turn, the bout was scrapped during fight week as Aliskerov was pulled in order to serve as a replacement for Khamzat Chimaev against Robert Whittaker a week later in the main event of UFC on ABC: Whittaker vs. Aliskerov.^[15]

Results

Main card (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Flyweight	Tatsuro Taira	def.	Alex Perez	TKO (knee injury)	2	2:59
Bantamweight	Miles Johns	def.	Douglas Silva de Andrade	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28)	3	5:00
Featherweight	Lucas Almeida	def.	Timothy Cuamba	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Bantamweight	Brady Hiestand	def.	Garrett Armfield	Submission (rear-naked choke)	3	1:52
Flyweight	Asu Almabayev	def.	Jose Johnson	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Welterweight	Adam Fugitt	def.	Josh Quinlan	Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)	3	5:00
Preliminary card (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Flyweight	Nate Maness	def.	Jimmy Flick	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28)	3	5:00
Women's Flyweight	Gabriella Fernandes	def.	Carli Judice	Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)	3	5:00
Featherweight	Westin Wilson	def.	Jeka Saragih	Submission (triangle armbar)	1	1:49
Featherweight	Melquizael Costa	def.	Shayilan Nuerdanbieke	Submission (face crank)	3	1:50
Women's Strawweight	Josefine Lindgren Knutsson	def.	Julia Polastri	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00

^[16]

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.^[17]

• Fight of the Night: Gabriella Fernandes vs. Carli Judice
• Performance of the Night: Tatsuro Taira and Brady Hiestand

See also

• Martial Arts portal

• 2024 in UFC
• List of current UFC fighters
• List of UFC events