After Van (15-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) won the belt in unceremonious fashion vs. Alexandre Pantoja in December, he will attempt to make his first defense against Taira (18-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC), who can become the first Japanese-born champion in company history when they clash in Saturday's co-main event at Prudential Center ( Paramount+ ).

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is just one day away from the upcoming UFC 328 mixed martial arts (MMA) event on Paramount+, headlined by the middleweight title fight pitting reigning champion Khamzat Chimaev against former division titleholder Sean Strickland.

UFC CEO Dana White says that he's confident Conor McGregor will make his return to fighting in the very near future.

The UFC 328 card made weight, save for one fighter who keeps getting brought back despite no UFC wins in the past eight years.

Stephens has also lost two straight and eight of his last 10, getting stopped in four of those losses.

Arman Tsarukyan is on standby if a replacement is needed for the UFC White House main event. Appearing on Nina Drama's Kick Stream (h/t Jed Meshew and Alexander K. Lee of MMA Fighting), UFC president Dana White confirmed Tsarukyan is the backup option if either Ilia Topuria or Justin Gaethje are unable to compete for whatever reason.

Get the latest UFC betting odds information before the first fight this weekend starts and find out what our expert predictions say will happen in the octagon.