Following UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, the UFC returned to the Apex in Las Vegas for a UFC Fight Night card headlined by a flyweight title eliminator between Brandon Royval and Tatsuro Taira. Arguably the hottest prospect on the UFC roster heading into his second main event,

Brandon Royval handed Tatsuro Taira his first professional loss via split decision in Saturday's back-and-forth flyweight contest.

In a wild and thrilling duel between top-five flyweights, former title challenger Brandon Royval sent a vocal message to the powers that be that he is most deserving of the next shot at the belt.  Royval (17-7) rallied in Round 5 to stay off the ground amid the grappling threat of Tatsuro Taira to edge out the 24-year-old Japanese prospect via split decision in an epic styles contrast that saw both fighters take turns dominating the terms of the fight.