Joshua Van voices surprise at Tatsuro Taira being his UFC 327 opponent

UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van is surprised to be fighting Tatsuro Taira as opposed to Manel Kape at UFC 327.

As has now been confirmed, Joshua Van will defend his UFC flyweight championship at UFC 327 against Tatsuro Taira. Taira was one of a handful of fighters thought to be in the mix for this bout, including Alexandre Pantoja depending on his recovery, and perhaps the clearest contender Manel Kape.

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Van and Kape had been going back and forth at one another on social media and it felt like all roads were leading to them squaring off. In the end, though, that’s not the direction that the UFC opted to go in for whatever reason.

In a recent interview, Joshua Van gave his side of the story regarding how this fight got booked.

Van on his upcoming title fight

“When I was in Cali, they called me on short notice because Kayla (Harrison) vs. Amanda Nunes fell off,” Van said on Paramount’s UFC Fight Night 267 post-fight show. “They offered me two weeks notice and I immediately said yes. I guess they called Manel and he said he can’t, so I said, Ok, cool.’

“He called me out for March 7 and Mick (Maynard) and my managers said, ‘Who you want: Manel or Taira for March 7?’ I said Manel, and I said yes on my part, and I don’t know what happened. A couple ofdays later, they said Taira.”

“That’s what I thought, too,” Van said when Alan Jouban told him Kape was the better matchup. “We were going off on Twitter. I said yes, and I guess something happened on his part. The UFC said Taira.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

What do you believe is the fight that the UFC should have booked? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, BJPENN Nation!