UFC Vegas 98 start time, full fight card details | Royval vs. Taira

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is back home in Las Vegas, Nevada, to stage UFC Vegas 98 later TONIGHT (Sat., Oct. 12, 2024) from inside its APEX venue. Headlining the ESPN+-streamed event is a men’s Flyweight bout between Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira. In UFC Vegas 98’s co-headlining bout, Brad Tavares takes on Jun Yong Park in Middleweight action.

What’s Hot:

Flyweight champion, Alexandre Pantoja, may soon have a dance partner confirmed for his third attempt to defend his 125-pound strap as Royval (No. 1) will battle Taira (No. 4) in what is sure to be a thrilling title eliminator fight. Royval has already lost to Pantoja twice, coming up short against the Brazilian bomber three years ago, losing via rear-naked choke (see it again here), and via decision just last year. Those are losses I’m sure Royval would love to get back, especially if it means he has a chance to not only get revenge, but to win his first-ever UFC world title. But, he has a huge task ahead of him, attempting to become the first man to defeat Taira, who is coming into the fight with an immaculate record (16-0, 6-0 UFC).

Taira — a former Shooto Flyweight champion — is obviously no stranger to world championship fights, but he has his eyes on the biggest prize of them all, a UFC strap, after impressing in his first six fights with the promotion. Already ranked No. 4 in the division that at one point was on its deathbed, Taira has secured six wins in just two years — four finishes — which has been more than enough to move up the ranks and into the position to fight for the world title sooner, rather than later. What’s scary about Taira is that he is very calculated with his approach, which is also very lethal. Royval has power and striking skills to match, but Tairia is just slightly better in all areas, though it’s easy to say the jiu-jitsu department is a toss up. But, I do not expect this bout to take place on the ground very often. The winner here undoubtedly gets a shot at Pantoja’s title, which will be another stellar bout in itself.

Original Card Vs. Actual Card:

A Bantamweight tilt between former division champion Cody Garbrandt vs. Miles Johns was scheduled for this event before the bout was moved to a fight night event in November for undisclosed reasons. A women’s Strawweight bout between Polyana Viana vs. Cory McKenna was also scheduled for this event before Viana withdrew from the fight and replaced by Julia Polastri, who came up short against Josefine Lindgren Knutsson in her UFC debut earlier this year. As for McKenna, she was last seen getting submitted by Jaqueline Amorim this past summer.

Chris Barnett had to bow out of his Heavyweight fight against Junior Tafa as a result of travel complications because of Hurricane Milton, and was replaced by promotional newcomer, Sean Sharaf. Also, on the day of a disastrous weigh-ins where three fighters missed the mark (see here), a bout between Josh Fremd vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan was canceled after Fremd missed weight by three pounds.

Injuries:

Despite the numerous setbacks, none were reported as a result of injuries.

New Blood:

Sharaf will put his four-fight win streak on the line as he makes his UFC debut against Tafa in what is sure-to-be a hard-hitting Heavyweight slugfest. After turning professional in 2021, Sharaf hasn’t been overly-active, but when he’s been inside the cage he has made the most of it, earning four straight first-round knockout wins, including one in just nine seconds. When he trades bombs with Tafa — loser of two straight — it will be a sure-fire recipe for fireworks and a knockout … or not.

Cody Haddon will bring a five-fight win streak with him when he steps foot inside the Octagon for the first time against Dan Argueta in a fight that will now be contested at 139 pounds after Argueta missed weight. Now, Haddon will not only get a some extra cash courtesy of Argueta, but if the bout is somehow “Fight of the Night,” Haddon gets an extra $100,000 since Argueta will not be eligible to win the post-fight bonus cash.

Ramazanbek Temirov will make his first appearance inside the Octagon after spending the majority of his nine-year pro career competing internationally. Currently on a nine-fight win streak, he will look for lucky No. 10 against CJ Vergara. who is coming off a tough loss to Asu Almabaev earlier this year.

Lucas Rocha will make his UFC debut one year removed from his win on the Contender Series, his sixth straight victory. The 24-year old shows promise at a young age with a 17-1 record and 14 stoppages. His first test inside the Octagon will be against Clayton Carpenter, who is undefeated (7-0), including making a splash in his UFC debut by defeating Juancamilo Ronderos via submission more than 1.5 years ago.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look

We have already discussed the majority of the undercard action in our previous section, so let’s take a look at the couple of remaining bouts, shall we?

In Welterweight action, Themba Gorimbo will attempt to win his fourth straight when he battles long-time veteran and fan-favorite, Niko Price. “The Hybrid” was last seen defeating Alex Morono via unanimous decision this past summer, snapping his two-fight losing streak. Gorimbo, meanwhile, has looked impressive since losing his UFC debut by rattling of three consecutive victories.

Once upon a time, Jonathan Pearce was on a five-fight win streak, but he has since dropped two straight. As for his upcoming foe, Pat Sabatini, he is just 1-2 in his last three trips inside the Octagon, and was last seen getting knocked out by UFC’s newest darling, Diego Lopes, in just 90 seconds a year ago (see it again here). Both men need a win here if they want to hang on to their spot on UFC’s bloated roster.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

Daniel Rodriguez kicked off his UFC campaign with an impressive 7-1 mark, which includes big wins over Mike Perry, Jingliang Li and Kevin Lee, among others. But, over his last three fights, “D-Rod’s” level of competition has increased, and he has been unable to answer the call, losing three straight at the hands of Ian Garry, Neil Magny and Kelvin Gastelum. Now, he will look to avoid his dreaded fourth straight defeat when he goes up against Alex Morono, who could use a win himself, going 1-2 in his last three bouts including his most recent defeat at the hands of the aforementioned Price.

Interest Level: 5/10

Two streaking Lightweights will attempt to keep their rhythm going when they do battle against one another as Grant Dawson takes on Rafa Garcia. Dawson is an astounding 9-1-1 in his last 10 fights under the UFC banner. As for Rafa, he is 4-1 in his last five fights, so both men are looking to make a splash in order to be in consideration for a Top 15 ranking. which is hard to come by in the loaded 155-pound weight class.

A fight that was scheduled to take place at Welterweight between Chidi Njokuani and Jared Gooden will now be a catchweight fight of 172 pounds after Gooden failed to make weight. “Nite Train” is 3-1 in his last four fights but his scale fail definitely gives him a black eye, so he needs an impressive win to get back into UFC’s good graces. Njokuani, meanwhile, snapped his horrible three-fight losing streak by scoring a split-decision win over Rhys McKee earlier this year.

In the co-main event, Tavares will look to prove that he still has plenty left in the tank after competing for the promotion for close to 15 years now. He has had several ups and downs during that time, but over the last few years he has been rather inconsistent when it comes to picking up wins, going just 1-3 in his last four fights. As for Park, he is 4-1 in his last five fights, and is coming off a tough loss at the hands of Andre Muniz, which he lost via split-decision.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC Vegas 98 Fight Card:

UFC Vegas 98 Main Event On ESPN+:

125 lbs.: Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira

UFC Vegas 98 Main Card on ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):

185 lbs.: Brad Tavares vs. Jun Yong Park
155 lbs.: Grant Dawson vs. Rafa García
115 lbs.: Cory McKenna vs. Julia Polastri
170 lbs.: Daniel Rodriguez vs. Alex Morono
185 lbs.: Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Josh Fremd — CANCELED (details here)

UFC Vegas 98 ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN+ (4 p.m. ET):

170 lbs.: Chidi Njokuani vs. Jared Gooden
125 lbs.: CJ Vergara vs. Ramazonbek Temirov
145 lbs.: Jonathan Pearce vs. Pat Sabatini
170 lbs.: Themba Gorimbo vs. Niko Price
265 lbs.: Junior Tafa vs. Sean Sharaf (not Chris Barnett)
135 lbs.: Dan Argueta vs. Cody Haddon
125 lbs.: Clayton Carpenter vs. Lucas Rocha

*Fight card, bout order and amount of fights remain subject to change.*

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 98 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” undercard matchups which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 98 news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here.