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Draft:Justin Tafa

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Junior Tafa
BornPascall Milo
(1996-09-21) 21 September 1996 (age 28)
Avondale, Auckland, New Zealand
NicknameThe Juggernaut
ResidenceBrisbane, Queensland, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Height191 cm (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Weight109 kg (240 lb; 17 st)[1]
DivisionHeavyweight
Reach183 cm (72 in)
StyleBoxing, Muay Thai
TrainerNTG
Years active2017–present
Professional boxing record
Total2
Wins1
By knockout1
Losses0
Draws1
Kickboxing record
Total28
Wins23
By knockout19
Losses5
By knockout2
Mixed martial arts record
Total5
Wins4
By knockout4
Losses1
By decision1
Other information
Boxing record from BoxRec

Junior Tafa (born 21 September 1996) is anAustralian mixed martial artist and former professional kickboxer and boxer who currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).


Kickboxing career

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Tafa participated in the 2018 Glory four man heavyweight tournament, alongside D'Angelo Marshall, Guto Inocente and Benjamin Adegbuyi.[2] Tafa lost his semi-final fight to Inocente, but advanced due to Inocente suffering a cut during their bout.[3] In the finals he met Benjamin Adegbuyi. Adegbuyi focused on landing leg kicks, and won the fight in the second round by TKO, after dropping Tafa three times.[4]

On December 8, 2018, he entered the Glory 62 Heavyweight tournament[5] He lost in the quarter final against Jamal Ben Saddik by TKO second round.[6]

Tafa faced Cihad Kepenek at Glory 65: Utrecht on May 17, 2019.[7] He lost the fight by unanimous decision.[8]

Mixed martial arts career

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Early career

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Debuting in July 2022, Tafa won his first two bouts on the Australian regional scene, both by TKO stoppages.

Tafa then faced Nicolas Djurdjević on November 26, 2022 at BRAVE CF 66. He won the bout via TKO stoppage two minutes into the bout.[9]

Tafa faced Tsuyoshi Sudario on December 31, 2022 at Rizin 40.[10] He won the fight by TKO via punches in the first round.[11]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

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In January 2023, it was announced that Tafa had signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He will make his promotional debut against Austen Lane at UFC 284 on February 11, 2023.[12] However, Lane withdrew due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Waldo Cortes-Acosta.[13] In turn, it was announced a few days later that Tafa withdrew due to injury and the bout was scrapped.[14]

Tafa faced Mohammed Usman on April 22, 2023 at UFC Fight Night 222. [15] Tafa lost bout via unanimous decision.[16]


Personal life

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Junior Tafa is the brother of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight, Justin Tafa.[citation needed]

Mixed martial arts record

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Professional record breakdown
6 matches 5 wins 1 loss
By knockout 5 0
By decision 0 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 5–1 Parker Porter KO (punch) UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. The Korean Zombie August 26, 2023 1 1:24 Kallang, Singapore
Loss 4–1 Muhammad Usman Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes April 22, 2023 3 5:00 Enterprise, Nevada, United States
Win 4–0 Tsuyoshi Sudario TKO (punches) Rizin 40 December 31, 2022 1 1:38 Saitama, Japan
Win 3–0 Nicolas Djurdjević TKO (punches) BRAVE CF 66 November 26, 2022 1 2:02 Bali, Indonesia
Win 2–0 Kelvin Fitial KO (punches) Hex Fight Series 23 August 5, 2022 2 4:36 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Win 1–0 Taisei Sekino TKO (punches) Beatdown Promotions 1 July 9, 2022 1 1:06 Eatons Hill, Queensland, Australia

[17]

Professional boxing record

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2 fights 1 win 0 losses
By knockout 1 0
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
2 Win 1–0–1 Australia David Tuliloa TKO 3 (4) 15 Sep 2022 Australia Nissan Arena, Nathan, Australia
1 Draw 0–0–1 Australia Jayden Joseph SD 4 3 Jun 2017 Australia Melbourne Park Function Centre, Melbourne, Australia

Kickboxing & Muay Thai record

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Kickboxing & Muay Thai Record
23 Wins (19 (T)KOs), 5 Losses, 0 Draws
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time
2021-04-24 Win Australia Christian Balz Eruption Muay Thai 20 Brisbane, Australia| KO (Right cross) 1 0:55
2020-12-11 Win Australia Callum Godfrey Eruption Muay Thai 2019 Brisbane, Australia KO (Right hook) 1 0:24
2019-05-17 Loss Turkey Cihad Kepenek Glory 65: Utrecht Utrecht, Netherlands Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00
2018-12-18 Loss Morocco Jamal Ben Saddik Glory 62: Rotterdam, Heavyweight Tournament Quarter-Finals Rotterdam, Netherlands TKO (2 Knockdowns) 1 2:55
2018-09-14 Win United States Haze Wilson Glory 58: Chicago Chicago, Illinois, United States TKO (Referee stoppage) 1 1:35
2018-07-20 Win United States Anthony McDonald Glory 55: New York New York City, United States TKO (3 Knockdowns) 1 2:20
2018-02-16 Loss Romania Benjamin Adegbuyi Glory 50: Chicago, Heavyweight Contender Tournament Final Chicago, Illinois, United States TKO (leg kicks) 2 0:31
2018-02-16 Loss Brazil Guto Inocente Glory 50: Chicago, Heavyweight Contender Tournament Semi-final Chicago, Illinois, United States Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
2017-10-14 Win China Quanchao Luo Glory 46: China Guangzhou, China TKO (three knockdowns) 1 1:34
2016-08-22 Win Australia Kings of Kombat 18 Melbourne, Australia KO 1 0:25
2015-12-05 Win Australia Jacob Francis Caged Muay Thai 7 Brisbane, Australia KO (Right cross) 1 1:40
2014-12-06 Win Australia Aaron Cannings Caged Muay Thai 5 Brisbane, Australia TKO (punches) 3 0:13
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

References

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  1. ^ a b "Junior 'The Juggernaut' Tafa: Glory Kickboxing". Glory.
  2. ^ "Junior Tafa to appear in eight-man heavyweight tournament at Glory 62 in Rotterdam". sportingnews.com. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  3. ^ "GLORY 50 results: Grigorian TKO's Groenhart, wins WW title". fightmag.com.au. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Junior Tafa Looking for Rematch With Benjamin Adegbuyi". kickboxingz.com. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  5. ^ Williams, Shar. "GLORY Returns to Rotterdam with Eight-Man Heavyweight Tournament". combatpress.com. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  6. ^ "GLORY 62 Results: Ben Saddik Captures Heavyweight Tournament". combatpress.com. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  7. ^ van Dinter, Sean (6 April 2019). "GLORY 65 Utrecht: Junior Tafa treft Cihad Kepenek". vechtsportinfo.nl. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  8. ^ "Glory'de Cihad Kepenek Rüzgarı". fightclub.com.tr. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  9. ^ AlexBehunin (27 November 2022). "Highlights! Watch Mini Tafa Score Another First Round Finish Ahead Of RIZIN Debut". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  10. ^ "【RIZIN】大みそかBellator対抗戦の最後のカードは武田光司！ 榊原CEOも期待「満場一致でお願いしたい」（オリコン）". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  11. ^ "【RIZIN】スダリオ剛が98秒KO負け！マーク・ハント門下のジュニア・タファの剛腕に沈む（ゴング格闘技）". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Junior Tafa firma contrato con UFC, enfrenta a Austen Lane en UFC 284". MMA.uno, #1 En noticias de Artes Marciales Mixtas (MMA) en Español. (in Spanish). 16 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  13. ^ Steve Duncan (20 January 2023). "Change of plans: Junior Tafa will face Waldo Cortes-Acosta at UFC 284". mma.uno. Retrieved 20 January 2023. (in Spanish)
  14. ^ Carlos Contreras Legaspi (8 February 2023). "UFC: Waldo Cortés-Acosta will face Marcos Rogerio 'Pezao' de Lima in April". espndeportes.espn.com. Retrieved 9 February 2023. (in Spanish)
  15. ^ "UFC Fight Night 222 adds heavyweight bout Junior Tafa vs. Mohammed Usman". MMA Junkie. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  16. ^ Pillay, Byron (22 April 2023). "Nigeria's Mohammed Usman Secures Victory Over Junior Tafa at UFC Fight Night". SportsBrief - Sport news. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  17. ^ "Junior Tafa MMA Stats". Sherdog. Retrieved 6 June 2022.

See also

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Notes

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References

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Category:1996 births Category:Living people Category:Sportspeople from Auckland Category:New Zealand male kickboxers Category:Australian male kickboxers Category:Heavyweight kickboxers Category:Glory kickboxers Category:New Zealand emigrants to Australia Category:Naturalised citizens of Australia Category:Australian sportspeople of Samoan descent Category:Australian male boxers Category:Boxers from Brisbane Category:Heavyweight boxers Category:New Zealand Muay Thai practitioners Category:Australian Muay Thai practitioners Category:New Zealand male mixed martial artists Category:Australian male mixed martial artists Category:Heavyweight mixed martial artists Category:Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Category:Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Category:Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing

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