Hilo’s Brad Tavares wants a fight at UFC 226, calls out Michael Bisping

Hilo’s Brad Tavares has fought 16 times in his UFC career and is ready for a big-name fight.

Following his first stoppage win in more than seven years, the Waiakea alumnus called out former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping, asking for a fight at UFC 226 in July in Las Vegas.

Tavares continued his rise up the 185-pound rankings when he stopped 13th-ranked Krzysztof Jotko at 2 minutes, 16 seconds of the third round to open the televised undercard of Saturday’s UFC on Fox 29 event in Glendale, Ariz.

Tavares (17-5, 12-4 UFC) scored his fourth win in a row and fifth in his last six outings when he dropped Jotko (19-6, 6-4) with a right hand before following up with a series of ground-and-pound strikes to end it.

“Just staying tight in the pocket. Stuff we worked on and finally that right hand landed right on the money,” Tavares said in a postfight interview. “I felt like he was out already, but I didn’t see the ref anywhere near so I had to finish the fight.”

Tavares entered the fight ranked two spots behind Jotko at middleweight and was ahead the entire fight, scoring an impressive kick to the body and jumping knee-to-the-face combination in the second round.

Tavares hadn’t won by stoppage since beating Phil Baroni in January 2011.

After the bout, he was asked whom he wanted to fight next and immediately had someone come to mind.

“I’m looking for him. I don’t see him,” Tavares said. “Michael Bisping, where you at, bro? … I would love the chance to fight you.”

Tavares scored the only knockdown of the fight and landed 62 of 115 strikes compared to the 40 of 90 strikes landed by Jotko.