Justin Tafa (born December 13, 1993) is a New Zealand-born Australian

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

fighter of Samoan heritage, currently competing in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Early life

Tafa was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, to a family of Samoan descent, and grew up in the West Auckland suburb of Avondale. Tafa comes from a family of fighters. Tafa's grandfather was a national boxing champion while his three brothers have also fought professionally, with

Junior Tafa Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

a top-10 ranked heavyweight in leading kickboxing promotion Glory.

Rugby league career

He played for the

Marist Saints The Marist Saints is a rugby league club based in Mount Albert, New Zealand. They currently compete in the top grade in Auckland Rugby League, the Fox Memorial Premiership. History Founded in 1919, the Marist club first won the Fox Memorial in 1 ...

in the junior

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region, including both club and school rugby league. It began in 1910 when the fi ...

and was signed to the

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...

. Tafa's athletic career began in rugby league, and he was signed to the

and played in the under-20s competition but a run of injuries left him disillusioned with the sport.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Tafa made his professional debut at XFC 30, with a second-round stoppage of Dylan Tiaaleaiga. Tafa was then scheduled to fight Jeremy Joiner for the XFC Heavyweight title, at XFC 36. He won the fight by TKO, after just 28 seconds. Tafa was scheduled to make his first title defense against David Taumoepeau on May 24, 2019, at XFC 41. He won the fight by a second-round TKO, stopping his opponent 30 seconds into the second round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Tafa made his promotional debut on October 6, 2019 at

UFC 243 ''UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 6, 2019, at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Background The event was the ...

against

Yorgan De Castro Yorgan De Castro (born December 19, 1987) is a Cape Verdean professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). He is most notable for fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (U ...

. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. For his second fight with the promotion, Tafa faced

Juan Adams Juan Alejandro Arcienego-Adams (born January 16, 1992) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and currently competes in the heavyweight division of the PFL. Adams formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Backgroun ...

on February 8, 2020 at

UFC 247 ''UFC 247: Jones vs. Reyes'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 8, 2020 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Light Heavyweight Championship ...

. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Tafa was scheduled to face

Raphael Pessoa Raphael Pessoa (born March 9, 1989) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA). He also formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mixed martial arts c ...

on July 25, 2020 at

UFC on ESPN 14 ''UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 14'' and ''UFC Fight Island 3'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 26, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu ...

. However, he pulled out on July 15 due to unknown reasons and was replaced by

Tanner Boser Tanner Vilbon Nicholas Boser (born August 2, 1991) is a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who is currently signed to the UFC Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight division. He had previously competed for Unified MMA, where he won the ...

. Tafa faced

Carlos Felipe Carlos Felipe (born January 12, 1995) is a Brazilian mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division. A professional since 2014, he most notably fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (U ...

on January 16, 2021 at UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar. He lost the bout via split decision. 16 out of 20 media scores gave it to Tafa. Tafa faced

Jared Vanderaa Jared Vanderaa (born May 12, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Vanderaa was born in Washington but moved around a lot with his mother in pursuit o ...

on May 22, 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt. He lost the bout via unanimous decision. This bout earned him the'' Fight of the Night'' award. Tafa faced Harry Hunsucker on December 18, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 199 ''UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus'' (also known as ''UFC Vegas 45'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 57'' and ''UFC Fight Night 199'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 18, 2021 at the UFC ...

. At the weigh-ins, Tafa weighed in at 267 pounds, 1 pound over the heavyweight non-title fight limit, marking the first time in UFC history that a fighter missed weight in that division. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Tafa was fined a percentage of his purse, which went to Hunsucker. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. Tafa was scheduled to face

Jake Collier Jake Collier (born October 23, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background With no background in sports, Collier started Brazilian jiu-jitsu to lose weight ...

on April 30, 2022 at

UFC on ESPN 35 ''UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Vera'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 35'' and ''UFC Vegas 53'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 30, 2022, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Neva ...

. However, Tafa withdrew from event for undisclosed reasons, and was replaced by

Andrei Arlovski Andrei Arlovski (born 4 February 1979) is a Belarusian-American professional mixed martial artist, actor and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and ho ...

. Tafa was scheduled to face

Don'Tale Mayes Don'Tale O'Neil Mayes (born January 16, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Born and raised in Kentucky, Mayes begun tr ...

on July 30, 2022, at

UFC 277 ''UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 30, 2022, at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Women's Bantamweight Cha ...

. Tafa pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by promotional newcomer Hamdy Abdelwahab. Tafa is scheduled to face

Parker Porter Parker Frederick Porter (born April 22, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Porter played baseball, lacrosse and football in his youth. After high sc ...

on February 12, 2023, at

UFC 284 ''UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski'' is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on February 12, 2023, at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Background The event will mark the promoti ...

Championships and achievements

Mixed martial arts

** Fight of the Night (One time) *Australian Xtreme Fighting Championship ** XFC Heavyweight Championship. (One Time) ***One successful defense

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 5–3 , Harry Hunsucker , KO (head kick) , UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Daukaus , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:53 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

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Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:59 ,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

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, KO (punch) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:10 ,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , David Taumoepeau , TKO (punches) , XFC 41 , , align="center" , 2 , align="center" , 0:30 ,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Jeremy Joiner , TKO (punches) , XFC 36 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:28 ,

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Dylan Tiaaleaiga , TKO (punches) , XFC 30 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:35 ,

, Australia ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tafa, Justin 1993 births Living people Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu New Zealand male mixed martial artists New Zealand practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu New Zealand people of Samoan descent Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Sportspeople from Auckland New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Australia