UFC Fight Night: Royval vs. Taira
| Company type | Mixed martial arts event |
|---|---|
| Industry | Sports entertainment |
| Founded | October 12, 2024 |
| Headquarters | Enterprise, Nevada , United States |
UFC Fight Night: Royval vs. Taira—also referred to as UFC Fight Night 244, UFC on ESPN+ 102, and UFC Vegas 98—was a mixed martial arts competition organized by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 12, 2024, taking place at the UFC Apex facility located in Enterprise, Nevada, United States.
Background
The main event featured a flyweight clash between former UFC Flyweight Championship contender and previous LFA Flyweight Champion Brandon Royval and the undefeated rising star Tatsuro Taira.
A middleweight contest between Brad Tavares and Park Jun-yong, initially planned for UFC on ESPN: Lemos vs. Jandiroba but postponed due to Park’s medical clearance complications, was rescheduled for this card.
Originally slated for this event was a bantamweight matchup pitting former UFC Bantamweight Champion Cody Garbrandt against ex-LFA Bantamweight Champion Miles Johns, which was later shifted to UFC Fight Night 247 for undisclosed reasons.
In the women’s strawweight division, Julia Polastri stepped in to face Cory McKenna after Polyana Viana withdrew from their bout.
The heavyweight fight initially scheduled between Chris Barnett and former LFA Heavyweight Champion Waldo Cortes-Acosta saw Cortes-Acosta replaced by Junior Tafa. Subsequently, Barnett withdrew due to travel disruptions caused by Hurricane Milton, prompting promotional newcomer Sean Sharaf to take his place.
Terrance McKinney was briefly announced for a lightweight bout but was later removed from the lineup without further explanation.
During the weigh-ins, three competitors failed to make weight:
- Jared Gooden (172.5 lbs),
- Dan Argueta (138.5 lbs), and
- Josh Fremd (189 lbs).
Fights involving Gooden and Argueta proceeded at catchweight with each fined 20% of their fight purses, which were awarded to their respective opponents, Chidi Njokuani and Cody Haddon. The bout between Fremd and Abdul Razak Alhassan was canceled due to Fremd missing weight.
Bonus awards
Monetary bonuses of $50,000 were granted as follows:
- Fight of the Night: Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira
- Performance of the Night: Ramazan Temirov and Clayton Carpenter