Tatsuro Taira

Taira grew up in Naha, Okinawa. He began training in combat sports during his first year of high school after being influenced by his older brother, who trained at The Palaestra Okinawa. Taira subsequently developed his mixed martial arts skills under the guidance of Ryota Matsune.

His early amateur career produced a perfect 10-0 record in Shooto competition. In 2017, he won the 11th Kyushu Amateur Shooto Championship and the 24th All-Japan Amateur Shooto Championship, results that helped him move into the professional ranks.

Taira made his professional debut in 2018, defeating Yo Otake by first-round triangle choke in the Shooto Rookie of the Year Tournament. Later that year, he submitted Ryo Oyakawa by guillotine choke in the Shooto Newcomer's Championship final and was named the tournament's flyweight rookie champion and MVP.

His early professional progression included wins over Takahiro Kohori, Kiyotaka Shimizu, Yoshiro Maeda, and Tatsuya Fukuda. He submitted Maeda by rear-naked choke in 61 seconds in March 2021, then defeated Fukuda by first-round triangle choke in July 2021 to win the Shooto Flyweight Championship. He also submitted Alfredo Muaiad by rear-naked choke at Vale Tudo Japan later that year.

Taira signed a multi-fight contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in February 2022. His scheduled debut against Carlos Candelario was postponed after Candelario withdrew because of food poisoning, but the bout was rescheduled for two weeks later. Taira won the fight by unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 36.

He followed the debut with a second-round armbar submission of C.J. Vergara and a first-round triangle-armbar submission of Jesús Santos Aguilar. Both victories earned him Performance of the Night honors. Taira later vacated the Shooto Flyweight Championship because his UFC schedule prevented him from defending it.

Taira continued his UFC rise with a unanimous-decision win over Édgar Cháirez and a second-round knockout of Carlos Hernandez. He then defeated Alex Perez by technical knockout after Perez suffered a knee injury in their June 2024 main event, earning another Performance of the Night award. The victory made Taira the first fighter born in the 2000s to win a UFC main event.

His first professional loss came against Brandon Royval in October 2024, when Royval won a five-round split decision. Taira described the bout as a key fight in his career because it was his first loss and first full five-round contest. He returned to winning form in 2025 by submitting Hyun Sung Park with a face crank before stopping former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno by strikes at UFC 323.

Taira challenged Joshua Van for the UFC Flyweight Championship at UFC 328. Van stopped him by strikes in the fifth round, giving Taira an 18-2 professional record. His UFC record includes six knockout victories, eight submission wins, and eight first-round finishes.

Taira held the Shooto Flyweight Championship after defeating Tatsuya Fukuda in 2021. In the UFC, he has received three Performance of the Night bonuses and two Fight of the Night awards, the latter for bouts with Brandon Royval and Joshua Van.

UFC.com recognized Taira as its No. 4 Newcomer of the Year for 2022 and ranked his fight with Royval among the organization's 2024 Fight of the Year bouts. He was also named to the second team of MMA Fighting's 2023 MMA All-Star selections and the third team of its 2025 All-Violence Team.

Taira has spoken about representing Okinawa through his motto, "From Okinawa to the World." He wants to raise the profile of UFC competition in Japan and show that an athlete from Okinawa can reach the highest level of mixed martial arts.

He is a prominent fan of the anime Naruto and has discussed watching it with his older brother. Taira has also identified Brazilian jiu-jitsu armbars as his favorite grappling technique and middle kicks as his favorite striking technique. He has a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.