Tag: Justin Tafa

UFC on ABC 5: Emmett vs. Topuria media day interviews

Watch the live stream for the UFC on ABC 5: Emmett vs. Topuria media day in Jacksonville, Fla.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The UFC returns to network television this Saturday with a key featherweight showdown.

In the main event of UFC on ABC 5, unbeaten rising contender [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] takes on former interim title challenger [autotag]Josh Emmett[/autotag], as he looks to get one step closer to UFC gold.

But before the two battle it out at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Topuria and Emmett will spoke to the media, along with 10 other fighters competing on the card, at Wednesday’s media day.

Above you can find the live video stream for the media day, and below each individual interview from the fighters.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (May 1-7)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from May 1-7.

Ex-Jaguars DE Austen Lane to make UFC debut in Jacksonville

Austen Lane’s first UFC fight will be against veteran Justin Tafa in Jacksonville.

Former Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Austen Lane will make his UFC debut in front of many of the same fans who cheered for him during his NFL career.

Lane revealed that his first fight in the premier mixed martial arts organization will happen on June 24 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena against veteran Justin Tafa.

The Jaguars drafted Lane in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL draft and he spent three seasons with the team, recording three sacks and 66 tackles during his time in Jacksonville. He later had brief stints with the Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, and Chicago Bears before retiring and transitioning into a career in MMA.

In September 2022, Lane knocked out Richard Jacobi at Dana White’s Contender Series to improve his record to 12-3 as a pro and earn a contract with the UFC. While he was due to make his debut in February against Junior Tafa, Lane pulled out of the fight because of a bicep injury.

Instead Lane will face the elder Tafa brother, who is 6-3 as a pro and 3-3 in the UFC. Justin Tafa won each of his last two fights by first round knockout.

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UFC Fight Night 222 adds heavyweight bout Junior Tafa vs. Mohammed Usman

Younger siblings of UFC vets are set to clash at UFC Fight Night 222 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Younger siblings of UFC veterans will meet in a heavyweight clash in April.

At UFC Fight Night 222, heavyweight winner of “The Ultimate Fighter Season 30” [autotag]Mohammed Usman[/autotag] will meet the debuting [autotag]Junior Tafa[/autotag] on April 22, according to an announcement by the promotion.

The event takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and is headlined by a heavyweight matchup between [autotag]Sergei Pavlovich[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag].

Mohammed (8-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC), the younger brother of former welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag], took care of business in his first fight with the promotion at UFC on ESPN 40. A violent left hook put Zac Pauga down in the second round, crowning Mohammed the winner of “TUF 30.”

Junior (4-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), the younger sibling of UFC heavyweight [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag], will fight for the promotion for the first time. Junior has been on an undefeated streak since 2020 across MMA, kickboxing, Muay Thai, and boxing bouts, racking up a total of eight straight victories.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 222 lineup includes:

  • Sergei Pavlovich vs. Curtis Blaydes
  • Matthew Semelsberger vs. Jeremiah Wells
  • Norma Dumont vs. Karol Rosa
  • Ricky Simon vs. Song Yadong
  • William Gomis vs. Francis Marshall
  • Iasmin Lucindo vs. Brogan Walker
  • Jared Gordon vs. Bobby Green
  • Junior Tafa vs. Mohammed Usman
  • Priscila Cachoeira vs. Karine Silva
  • Danaa Batgerel vs. Brady Hiestand
  • Bruno Silva vs. Brad Tavares
  • Christos Giagos vs. Ricky Glenn
  • Montel Jackson vs. Rani Yahya

MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month for February: Lorenz Larkin’s vicious elbow

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from February 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from February 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for February.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

Nominees

UFC 284 medical suspensions: Yair Rodriguez, Josh Emmett among lengthiest terms

Five fighters, including both co-main event participants, were suspended six months for injuries sustained Down Under at UFC 284.

Five fighters face 180-day medical suspensions as a result of injuries sustained at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia.

On Monday, the Combat Sports Commission of Western Australia publicly published a full list of medical suspensions. While the commission discloses the duration of the suspensions, it does not reveal specifics of fighters’ injuries.

Co-main event participants [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag] and [autotag]Josh Emmett[/autotag] were among the five fighters who received six-months suspensions, the longest term given to any fighters on the card.

UFC 284 took place Feb. 11 at RAC Arena and was headlined by a lightweight title fight between Islam [autotag]Makhachev[/autotag] and [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag].

See below to check out the medical suspensions given to each fighter. It’s important to note fighters can return sooner than the conclusion of the suspension listed if they are cleared by a doctor beforehand.

Justin Tafa happy with quick win at UFC 284: ‘Nothing like a walk-off KO in Australia’

Justin Tafa is satisfied with his finish over Parker Porter at Saturday’s UFC 284 in front of a friendly crowd in Perth, Australia.

PERTH, Australia – [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag] is happy with how he got out of the gate in 2023.

The heavyweight scored a quick and brutal knockout over Parker Porter on the main card of Saturday’s UFC 284 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Tafa (6-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) slept Porter just 66 seconds into the contest. It was as clean as it gets with a knockout, and no follow-up shots were needed.

“There’s nothing like a walk-off KO in Australia, your home turf, hometown, home soil,” Tafa told reporters at his UFC 284 post-fight news conference.

The 29-year-old now has back-to-back wins in the UFC for the first time and is happy with the victory and some of the strides he made.

“For me, it’s all these intangible things that you don’t see – mental things, being able to absorb the crowd’s energy without making it blind your vision, and all that,” Tafa said. “It’s good to come back and knock someone out in front of my sons. They didn’t believe me that I knock people out.”

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Tafa is hoping to get a quick return. He wants in on the UFC 287 card in Miami on April 8 – an event headlined by a middleweight title rematch between Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya.

“I’m thinking that card that Izzy is on,” Tafa said of his return. “My little brother might be on that, so I want to be on the same – you know, save some flight money in there.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 284.

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UFC 284 post-event facts: Islam Makhachev leads promotion in winning streaks

Check out the numbers to come out of UFC 284, where Islam Makhachev’s title defense gave him the UFC’s longest active winning streak.

The UFC made its return to Australia after more than four years Saturday with UFC 284, which took place at RAC Arena in Perth and marked an historic event.

In the headlining act, [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) successfully defended his lightweight title for the first time when he earned a unanimous decision win over featherweight champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (25-2 MMA, 12-1 UFC) to extend his winning ways inside the octagon.

Additionally, [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag] (15-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) claimed interim featherweight gold in the co-main event when he scored a slick second-round submission over [autotag]Josh Emmett[/autotag] (18-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) to set up a future showdown with Volkanovski.

For more on the numbers to come out of the title fights, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC 287.

UFC 284 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Makhachev, Volkanovski net $42,000 each

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 284 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $263,000.

PERTH, Australia – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 284 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $263,000.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 284 took place at RAC Arena. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

The full UFC 284 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag]: $42,000
def. [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]: $42,000

[autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Josh Emmett[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Jack Della Maddalena[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Randy Brown[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Parker Porter[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jimmy Crute[/autotag]: $6,000
vs. [autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Tyson Pedro[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Josh Culibao[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Melsik Baghdasaryan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Kleydson Rodrigues[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Shannon Ross[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jamie Mullarkey[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Fransisco Prado[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jack Jenkins[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Don Shainis[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Loma Lookboonmee[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Elise Reed[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Blake Bilder[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Shane Young[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Zubaira Tukhugov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Elves Brenner[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $895,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $15,414,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 284.

UFC 284 video: Justin Tafa floors Parker Porter with vicious knockout in just 66 seconds

Justin Tafa has heavy hands and only needed 66 seconds to knock out his opponent on the main card of UFC 284.

It didn’t take long for [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag] to find his opponent’s chin.

In the second bout on the pay-per-view main card of UFC 284, Tafa (6-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) took on Parker Porter in a heavyweight clash at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.

Tafa needed only 66 seconds to finish the fight. As Porter closed in to look for a big overhand right, Tafa evaded just enough while countering with a sharp left hand. Porter immediately crashed to the canvas, and rolled to his back with his arms spread out. He was clearly out of sorts, and Tafa recognized no more follow-up punches were required.

Referee Jason Herzog quickly assessed the situation and waved the fight off as the Australian crowd erupted.

Tafa has now knocked out back-to-back opponents in the first round. In his previous appearance at UFC Fight Night 188, he knocked out Harry Hunsucker in under two minutes. Saturday, he needed just over a minute to close the show.

On the other side, Porter drops his second straight in the first round. Prior to his skid, he won three straight unanimous decisions over Josh Parisian, Chase Sherman and Alan Baudot.

The up-to-the-minute UFC 284 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 284.

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