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          Van's injury pushes title defense vs. Taira to UFC 328 in May

          • Brett OkamotoApr 4, 2026, 09:09 PM ET
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              Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: "Chuck and Tito," which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.
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          UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van's first title defense will be pushed back to next month because of a minor injury, officials announced on Saturday.

          Van (16-2) was scheduled to defend his belt against Tatsuro Taira (18-1) at UFC 327 next weekend in Miami, but the championship contest has been postponed to UFC 328 on May 9 in Newark. The fight joins a card that will be headlined by a middleweight title fight between Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland.

          Van, 24, became the second-youngest champion in UFC history in December, when he claimed the 125-pound belt from Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 323. Fighting out of Myanmar, Van has won six in a row.

          The UFC 327 event at Kaseya Center in Miami is headlined by a vacant light heavyweight title bout between Jiri Prochazka and Carlos Ulberg.