Junior Tafa | |
---|---|
Born | Pascall Milo 21 September 1996 Avondale, Auckland, New Zealand |
Nickname | The Juggernaut |
Residence | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
Nationality | Australian |
Height | 191 cm (6 ft 3 in) [1] |
Weight | 109 kg (240 lb; 17 st) [1] |
Division | Heavyweight |
Reach | 183 cm (72 in) |
Style | Boxing, Muay Thai |
Trainer | NTG |
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 | 5 |
Wins | 4 |
By knockout | 4 |
Losses | 1 |
By decision | 1 |
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).
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]
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]
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]
Junior Tafa is the brother of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight, Justin Tafa.[ citation needed]
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 |
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 |
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TKO | 3 (4) | 15 Sep 2022 |
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1 | Draw | 0–0–1 |
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SD | 4 | 3 Jun 2017 |
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23 Wins (19 (T)KOs), 5 Losses, 0 Draws | ||||||||
Date | Result | Opponent | Event | Location | Method | Round | Time | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021-04-24 | Win |
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Eruption Muay Thai 20 | Brisbane, Australia| | KO (Right cross) | 1 | 0:55 | |
2020-12-11 | Win |
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Eruption Muay Thai 2019 | Brisbane, Australia | KO (Right hook) | 1 | 0:24 | |
2019-05-17 | Loss |
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Glory 65: Utrecht | Utrecht, Netherlands | Decision (Unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | |
2018-12-18 | Loss |
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Glory 62: Rotterdam, Heavyweight Tournament Quarter-Finals | Rotterdam, Netherlands | TKO (2 Knockdowns) | 1 | 2:55 | |
2018-09-14 | Win |
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Glory 58: Chicago | Chicago, Illinois, United States | TKO (Referee stoppage) | 1 | 1:35 | |
2018-07-20 | Win |
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Glory 55: New York | New York City, United States | TKO (3 Knockdowns) | 1 | 2:20 | |
2018-02-16 | Loss |
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Glory 50: Chicago, Heavyweight Contender Tournament Final | Chicago, Illinois, United States | TKO (leg kicks) | 2 | 0:31 | |
2018-02-16 | Loss |
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Glory 50: Chicago, Heavyweight Contender Tournament Semi-final | Chicago, Illinois, United States | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 3:00 | |
2017-10-14 | Win |
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Glory 46: China | Guangzhou, China | TKO (three knockdowns) | 1 | 1:34 | |
2016-08-22 | Win |
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Kings of Kombat 18 | Melbourne, Australia | KO | 1 | 0:25 | |
2015-12-05 | Win |
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Caged Muay Thai 7 | Brisbane, Australia | KO (Right cross) | 1 | 1:40 | |
2014-12-06 | Win |
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Caged Muay Thai 5 | Brisbane, Australia | TKO (punches) | 3 | 0:13 | |
Legend: Win Loss Draw/No contest Notes |
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