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Check out the best photos from Justin Tafa’s first-round knockout win over Parker Porter at UFC 284 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
Check out the best photos from [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag]’s first-round knockout win over [autotag]Parker Porter[/autotag] at UFC 284 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. (Photos by Jasmin Frank, USA TODAY Sports)
Check out what the UFC 284 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event in Perth, Australia.
PERTH, Australia – UFC 284 took place Saturday with 13 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner and guest fighter interviews from RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
You can hear from all the UFC 284 winners and more by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.
See our staff members’ picks for the Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski and Yair Rodriguez vs. Josh Emmett title fights in Australia.
| Makhachev vs. Volkanovski |
Rodriguez vs. Emmett |
Brown vs. Maddalena |
Porter vs. Tafa |
Crute vs. Menifield |
|
| MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 9-8 |
 Makhachev (51%) |
 Rodriguez (62%) |
 Maddalena (80%) |
 Tafa (66%) |
 Crute (51%) |
| George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 13-4 |
Makhachev |
 Emmett |
Maddalena |
Tafa |
Crute |
| Matt Erickson 12-5 |
Makhachev |
Rodriguez |
Maddalena |
 Porter |
Crute |
| Brian Garcia @thegoze 12-5  2017 Champion |
Makhachev |
Emmett |
Maddalena |
Porter |
Crute |
| Simon Samano @SJSamano 11-6 |
Makhachev |
Emmett |
Maddalena |
Porter |
 Menifield |
| Matthew Wells @MrMWells 11-6 |
Makhachev |
Rodriguez |
Maddalena |
Tafa |
Menifield |
| Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 9-8 2018, 2022 Champion |
Makhachev |
Emmett |
Maddalena |
Tafa |
Crute |
| Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 9-8 |
Makhachev |
Rodriguez |
Maddalena |
Porter |
Crute |
| Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 8-9 |
Makhachev |
Emmett |
 Brown |
Tafa |
Menifield |
| Nolan King @mma_kings 8-9/em> |
Makhachev |
Rodriguez |
Maddalena |
Porter |
Crute |
| Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 8-9 |
Makhachev |
Rodriguez |
Maddalena |
Porter |
Menifield |
| Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 8-9 2014 Champion |
 Volkanovski |
Emmett |
Maddalena |
Tafa |
Menifield |
The UFC this week makes its second visit to the Australian city of Perth, and there are two title fights at the top of the bill.
UFC 284 takes place Saturday at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)
In the main event, lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) meets featherweight titleholder [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (25-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC). Makhachev will put his title on the line for the first time; he hasn’t lost in more than seven years. Volkanovski, who will go after a second concurrent title, hasn’t lost in nearly 10 years.
Makhachev is big favorite at -380 at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Volkanovski is +300. Only one of our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are going with him in an upset at a hefty 10-1 clip.
In the co-feature, the interim featherweight title is on the line between [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) and [autotag]Josh Emmett[/autotag] (18-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC). The two fight for the interim belt just ahead of featherweight champion Volkanovski (25-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) and his quest for a second belt at lightweight. Rodriguez nearly is a 2-1 favorite, but it’s Emmett who has a narrow 6-5 lead in the picks.
Also on the main card, [autotag]Randy Brown[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) takes on [autotag]Jack Della Maddalena[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at welterweight. Maddalena is a big favorite at -330 and has a blowout at 10-1 from our staff members.
[autotag]Parker Porter[/autotag] (13-7 MMA, 3-2 UFC) meets [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag] (5-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) in a heavyweight matchup. Tafa is a slight favorite at -130, but Porter has the smallest possible edge in the picks at 6-5.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Jimmy Crute[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) takes on [autotag]Alonzo Menifield[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in a light heavyweight fight. Crute nearly is a 2-1 favorite at the betting window, but he has just a slim 6-5 picks lead.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Makhachev (51 percent), Rodriguez (62 percent), Maddalena (80 percent), Tafa (66 percent) and Crute (51 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the picks above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 284.
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Check out the photos from the UFC 284 official weigh-ins at the UFC host hotel in Perth, Australia.
Check out the photos from the UFC 284 official weigh-ins at the UFC host hotel in Perth, Australia. (Images by Jasmin Frank, USA TODAY Sports)
Things weren’t easy for Justin Tafa leading into his UFC 284 home fight in Australia.
PERTH, Australia – Things weren’t easy for [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag] leading into his UFC 284 home fight.
The 28-year-old Australian heavyweight snapped a two-fight skid with a brilliant head kick knockout of Harry Hunsucker in December 2021. But he couldn’t get any momentum going in 2022 thanks to injuries.
Tafa had to pull out of an April 2022 fight against Jake Collier, then one with Don’Tale Mayes three months later. Saturday, Tafa (5-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) finally returns for the first time in 14 months when he takes on Parker Porter (13-7 MMA, 3-2 UFC) on the main card.
Ahead of his return, Tafa talked about the hardships he had to endure to get back in the cage. Check out Tafa’s full media day interview in the video above.
UFC 284 takes place Saturday at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 284.
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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 Oct. 31-Nov. 6.
Heavyweights are headed “down under” at UFC 284, as Justin Tafa welcomes Parker Porter to his home continent.
Heavyweights are headed to Australia.
[autotag]Parker Porter[/autotag] will travel into enemy territory when he takes on [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag] at UFC 284, an event which takes place Feb. 11 at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
Two people with knowledge of the booking recently informed MMA Junkie of the matchup but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Porter (13-7 MMA, 3-2 UFC) looks to rebound from a TKO loss to Jailton Almeida in May. The defeat snapped a three-fight winning streak, which included victories over Alan Badout, Chase Sherman, and Josh Parisian.
Tafa (5-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) most recently competed in December, when he snapped a two-fight losing skid with a quick head kick knockout of Harry Hunsucker. Though he won the bout, Tafa missed weight – a first in UFC heavyweight history. He was booked to compete against Don’Tale Mayes at UFC 277 in July, however, withdrew for undisclosed reasons.
With the addition, the UFC 284 lineup now includes:
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Less than two weeks away, the UFC 277 prelims are falling apart, and the promotion continues to patch things up.
UFC 277 is less than two weeks away, and the promotion continues to work through numerous fighter injuries and visa-related withdrawals.
While luckily the main card remains intact, a handful of preliminary card fighter pullouts have resulted in new bouts and a couple of yet-to-be-filled openings.
The event takes place July 30 at American Airlines Center in Dallas with the main card streaming on pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
See below to check out the UFC 277 changes from the past week.
Heavyweights will collide at UFC 277.
A heavyweight matchup has been added to UFC 277.
[autotag]Don’Tale Mayes[/autotag] (9-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag] (5-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) will square off in a three-round bout at a location and venue to-be-announced for the July 30 pay-per-view. Dallas currently is the frontrunner to host the event.
Two people with knowledge of the booking informed MMA Junkie of the matchup Friday but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Mayes, 30, currently is on a two-fight winning streak. The back-to-back victories over Roque Martinez and Josh Parisian came after he lost his first two UFC bouts.
Tafa, 28, snapped a two-fight skid in December when he knocked out Harry Hunsucker with a head kick. Prior to the bout, Tafa became the first heavyweight in UFC history to miss weight when he tipped the scales at 267 pounds.
With the addition, UFC 277 includes:
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Jake Collier will kick off his new UFC contract with a banger of a matchup.
[autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag] will kick off his new UFC contract with a banger of a matchup.
Collier (13-6 MMA, 5-5 UFC), who signed a new four-fight deal, takes on [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag] (5-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) at UFC Fight Night on April 30, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+.
A person with knowledge of the booking recently confirmed the matchup to MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Eurosport Nederland was first to report the news.
Heavyweight Jake Collier has signed a new four-fight deal with the #UFC, per his manager @HectorCastroESM. Collier is coming off a submission win over Chase Sherman in January. pic.twitter.com/UEt0HN3aEk
— Nolan King (@mma_kings) March 2, 2022
Collier has split his past four appearances since moving up to heavyweight. The 33-year-old is coming off arguably his most impressive performance to date, scoring a bonus-winning submission of Chase Sherman at UFC on ESPN 32 this past January.
Tafa was able to snap a two-fight losing skid with a head kick knockout of Harry Hunsucker at UFC Fight Night 199 this past December. Despite the highlight-reel finish, Tafa wasn’t eligible for a bonus after missing the heavyweight mark by one pound.
With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for April 30 includes:
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