| Junior Tafa | |
|---|---|
| Born | Pascall Saumani Milo 21 September 1996 Avondale, Auckland, New Zealand |
| Nickname | The Juggernaut |
| Residence | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) |
| Weight | 249 lb (113 kg; 17 st 11 lb) |
| Division | Heavyweight |
| Reach | 183 cm (72 in) |
| Style | Boxing, Muay Thai |
| Team | Soma Fight Club |
| Trainer | Mike Illei |
| Years active | 2017–present |
| Professional boxing record | |
| Total | 2 |
| Wins | 1 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| Losses | 0 |
| Draws | 1 |
| Kickboxing record | |
| Total | 28 |
| Wins | 23 |
| By knockout | 19 |
| Losses | 5 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 7 |
| Wins | 5 |
| By knockout | 5 |
| Losses | 2 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Boxing record from BoxRec | |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Junior Tafa (born 21 September 1996) is an Australian mixed martial artist and former professional kickboxer and boxer who currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Junior Tafa is the brother of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight, Justin Tafa. He is of Samoan descent.
Tafa participated in the 2018 Glory four man heavyweight tournament, alongside D'Angelo Marshall, Guto Inocente and Benjamin Adegbuyi. [1] Tafa lost his semi-final fight to Inocente, but advanced due to Inocente suffering a cut during their bout. [2] 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. [3]
On December 8, 2018, he entered the Glory 62 Heavyweight tournament [4] He lost in the quarter final against Jamal Ben Saddik by TKO second round. [5]
Tafa faced Cihad Kepenek at Glory 65: Utrecht on May 17, 2019. [6] He lost the fight by unanimous decision. [7]
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. [8]
Tafa faced Tsuyoshi Sudario on December 31, 2022 at Rizin 40. [9] He won the fight by TKO via punches in the first round. [10]
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. [11] However, Lane withdrew due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Waldo Cortes-Acosta. [12] In turn, it was announced a few days later that Tafa withdrew due to injury and the bout was scrapped. [13]
Tafa faced Mohammed Usman on April 22, 2023 at UFC Fight Night 222. [14] Tafa lost bout via unanimous decision. [15]
Tafa faced Parker Porter on August 26, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 225. [16] He won the bout via knockout in the first round. [17] This win which earned him a Performance of the Night award. [18]
Tafa, one day's notice, faced Marcos Rogério de Lima, replacing his injured brother Justin Tafa, on February 17, 2024, at UFC 298. [19] [20] He lost the bout by technical knockout in round two. [21]
Tafa was scheduled to face Karl Williams on March 23, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 53. [22] However, Tafa was pulled from the event due to injury and he was replaced by his brother Justin Tafa. [23]
Tafa is scheduled to face Valter Walker on August 17, 2024 at UFC 305. [24]
| 7 matches | 5 wins | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 5 | 1 |
| By decision | 0 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 5–2 | Marcos Rogério de Lima | TKO (leg kick and punches) | UFC 298 | February 17, 2024 | 2 | 1:14 | Anaheim, California, United States | |
| Win | 5–1 | Parker Porter | KO (punch) | UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. The Korean Zombie | August 26, 2023 | 1 | 1:24 | Kallang, Singapore | Performance of the Night |
| Loss | 4–1 | Mohammed Usman | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes | April 22, 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, 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, Australia | |
| Win | 1–0 | Taisei Sekino | TKO (punches) | Beatdown Promotions 1 | July 9, 2022 | 1 | 1:06 | Eatons Hill, Australia |
| 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 |  David Tuliloa | TKO | 3 (4) | 15 Sep 2022 | Nissan Arena, Nathan, Australia | |
| 1 | Draw | 0–0–1 | Jayden Joseph | SD | 4 | 3 Jun 2017 | Melbourne Park Function Centre, Melbourne, Australia |
| 23 Wins (19 (T)KOs), 5 Losses, 0 Draws | ||||||||
| Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Location | Method | Round | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-04-24 | Win | Christian Balz | Eruption Muay Thai 20 | Brisbane, Australia| | KO (Right cross) | 1 | 0:55 | |
| 2020-12-11 | Win | Callum Godfrey | Eruption Muay Thai 2019 | Brisbane, Australia | KO (Right hook) | 1 | 0:24 | |
| 2019-05-17 | Loss |  Cihad Kepenek | Glory 65: Utrecht | Utrecht, Netherlands | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2018-12-18 | Loss |  Jamal Ben Saddik | Glory 62: Rotterdam, Heavyweight Tournament Quarter-Finals | Rotterdam, Netherlands | TKO (2 Knockdowns) | 1 | 2:55 | |
| 2018-09-14 | Win |  Haze Wilson | Glory 58: Chicago | Chicago, Illinois, United States | TKO (Referee stoppage) | 1 | 1:35 | |
| 2018-07-20 | Win | Anthony McDonald | Glory 55: New York | New York City, United States | TKO (3 Knockdowns) | 1 | 2:20 | |
| 2018-02-16 | Loss |  Benjamin Adegbuyi | Glory 50: Chicago, Heavyweight Contender Tournament Final | Chicago, Illinois, United States | TKO (leg kicks) | 2 | 0:31 | |
| 2018-02-16 | Loss |  Guto Inocente | Glory 50: Chicago, Heavyweight Contender Tournament Semi-final | Chicago, Illinois, United States | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2017-10-14 | Win |  Quanchao Luo | Glory 46: China | Guangzhou, China | TKO (three knockdowns) | 1 | 1:34 | |
| 2016-08-22 | Win | | Kings of Kombat 18 | Melbourne, Australia | KO | 1 | 0:25 | |
| 2015-12-05 | Win | Jacob Francis | Caged Muay Thai 7 | Brisbane, Australia | KO (Right cross) | 1 | 1:40 | |
| 2014-12-06 | Win | Aaron Cannings | Caged Muay Thai 5 | Brisbane, Australia | TKO (punches) | 3 | 0:13 | |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest Notes | ||||||||
Lorenz Larkin is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2009, Larkin formerly competed for Strikeforce and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Carlos Augusto "Guto" Inocente Filho is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, Inocente formerly competed for the UFC and Strikeforce in MMA.
Benjamin Adekunle Miron Adegbuyi is a Romanian kickboxer and professional boxer. He is a two-time Glory Heavyweight Championship challenger and three-time winner of heavyweight tournament. Adegbuyi is also Superkombat World Grand Prix III 2012 tournament winner and 2018 Glory Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament runner-up. A professional since 2011, he also fought in K-1.
Derrick Lewis is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he currently holds the record for most knockouts in UFC history. A professional competitor since 2010, Lewis has also competed for Bellator MMA and Legacy FC, where he was the Heavyweight Champion. As of June 11, 2024, he is #11 in the UFC heavyweight rankings.
Marcos Rogério de Lima is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2009, he formerly competed for Strikeforce, Shooto, and was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3. As of February 20, 2024, he is #14 in the UFC heavyweight rankings.
Jeremy Kimball, is an American mixed martial arts fighter who formerly competed in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2010, Kimball has also formerly competed for Bellator MMA and the RFA.
Maurice Darnell Greene is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division. He appeared on The Ultimate Fighter 28 TV series. He has formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Professional Fighters League (PFL).
Juan Adams is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and currently competes in the heavyweight division. Adams formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Professional Fighters League (PFL).
Jairzinho Rozenstruik is a Surinamese professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer who currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He currently holds the record for second fastest knockout in the heavyweight division against Allen Crowder at UFC Fight Night 154. In kickboxing, he is a former WLF Super Heavyweight Tournament Champion and a Superkombat World Grand Prix I 2013 Runner-Up. As of 14 May 2024, he is #12 in the UFC heavyweight rankings.
Justin Tafa is an Australian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Manuel Pedro Gomes, better known as Manel Kape, is an Angolan-born Portuguese professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2012, he has formerly competed for Cage Fighters, Knock Out Championship, and Rizin Fighting Federation. He is the former Rizin Bantamweight Champion and the former Knock Out Championship Bantamweight champion. As of June 18, 2024, he is #8 in the UFC flyweight rankings.
Raphael Pessoa is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division. He also formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA)
Yorgan De Castro is a Cape Verdean professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division. He is most notable for fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and of Professional Fighters League (PFL).
Parker Porter is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division. A professional since 2007, he competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Bellator MMA.
Roque Martinez is a Guamanian mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division. He has formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Rizin Fighting Federation.
Jared Vanderaa is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Cihad Kepenek is a Turkish kickboxer, currently competing in the heavyweight division of kickboxing promotion Glory.
UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 12, 2023, at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
UFC 298: Volkanovski vs. Topuria was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 17, 2024, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, United States.
UFC on ESPN: Ribas vs. Namajunas was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 23, 2024, at UFC Apex in Enterprise, Nevada, United States.