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UFC Flyweight Champion Joshua Van is defending the gold against Tatsuro Taira in the main event of UFC 327.
Van expected to fight Manel Kape next, but was shocked when he found out Taira would be next.
"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 Houston post-fight show (transcript via Danny Segura of MMA Junkie). "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 of days later, they said Taira."
Taira is ranked third in the UFC Flyweight Division, with Kape and former flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja ranked ahead of him.
Van said he believed that Kape would be next after the exchange they had recently on X.
"That's what I thought, too," Van said. "We were going off on Twitter. I said yes, and I guess something happened on his part. The UFC said Taira."
