UFC 195's Michinori Tanaka fights off contract release and retirement with win

LAS VEGAS – The moments inside the octagon after a 15-minute fight were tense ones for Japanese veteran Michinori Tanaka, who admits he might have retired had things not gone his way against onetime bantamweight title challenger Joe Soto at UFC 195.

At the very least, Tanaka told MMAjunkie, he expected to be released from the promotion with a loss, which would have been his second consecutive setback after a split-call loss to Kyung Ho Kang in September at UFC Fight Night 52.

But this time, two of three judges agreed Tanaka (11-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) pulled out the win, awarding him the fight after a near-submission from Soto (15-5 MMA, 0-3 UFC) in the final moments of his UFC Fight Pass-streamed bout.

With three straight losses in the UFC, it’s now Soto who should worry more about his UFC career.

“I figured I would get cut if I lost,” Tanaka said through a translator after the bout at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. “ I didn’t know who it was going to go to. And I asked my cornermen, and they didn’t know about it. I was worried, and I was praying for my name to be called.”

Get Tanaka’s take on Soto’s third-round guillotine choke and his progression in the UFC bantamweight division in the video above.

For complete coverage of UFC 195, check out the UFC Events section of the site.