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Junior Tafa

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New Zealand-born Australian mixed martial artist

Junior Tafa
BornPascall Saumani Milo
(1996-09-21) 21 September 1996 (age 28)
Avondale, Auckland, New Zealand
NicknameThe Juggernaut
ResidenceBrisbane, Queensland, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight249 lb (113 kg; 17 st 11 lb)
DivisionHeavyweight
Reach183 cm (72 in)
StyleBoxing, Muay Thai
Fighting out ofBrisbane, Queensland, Australia
TeamSoma Fight Club
TrainerMike Ikilei
Years active2017–present
Professional boxing record
Total2
Wins1
By knockout1
Losses0
Draws1
Kickboxing record
Total28
Wins23
By knockout19
Losses5
By knockout2
Mixed martial arts record
Total9
Wins6
By knockout6
Losses3
By knockout1
By submission1
By decision1
Other information
Boxing record from BoxRec
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Pascall Saumani Milo (born 21 September 1996), known as Junior Tafa, is an Australian mixed martial artist, former professional kickboxer and boxer who currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Background

Junior Tafa is the brother of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight, Justin Tafa. He is of Samoan descent.

Kickboxing career

Tafa participated in the 2018 Glory four man heavyweight tournament, alongside D'Angelo Marshall, Guto Inocente and Benjamin Adegbuyi. Tafa lost his semi-final fight to Inocente, but advanced due to Inocente suffering a cut during their bout. 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.

On December 8, 2018, he entered the Glory 62 Heavyweight tournament He lost in the quarter final against Jamal Ben Saddik by TKO second round.

Tafa faced Cihad Kepenek at Glory 65: Utrecht on May 17, 2019. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

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.

Tafa faced Tsuyoshi Sudario on December 31, 2022, at Rizin 40. He won the fight by TKO via punches in the first round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In January 2023, it was announced that Tafa had signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was scheduled to make his promotional debut against Austen Lane at UFC 284 on February 11, 2023. However, Lane withdrew due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Waldo Cortes-Acosta. In turn, it was announced a few days later that Tafa withdrew due to injury and the bout was scrapped.

Tafa faced Mohammed Usman on April 22, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 222. Tafa lost bout via unanimous decision.

Tafa faced Parker Porter on August 26, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 225. He won the bout via knockout in the first round. This win which earned him a Performance of the Night award.

Tafa, on one day's notice, faced Marcos Rogério de Lima, replacing his injured brother Justin Tafa, on February 17, 2024, at UFC 298. He lost the bout by technical knockout in round two.

Tafa was scheduled to face Karl Williams on March 23, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 53. However, Tafa was pulled from the event due to injury and he was replaced by his brother Justin Tafa.

Tafa faced Valter Walker on August 18, 2024, at UFC 305. After Tafa screamed in pain, the referee called off the fight resulting in Tafa losing the fight via a heel hook technical submission at the end of the first round.

Replacing Waldo Cortes-Acosta and on short notice, Tafa was scheduled to face Chris Barnett on October 12, 2024 at UFC Fight Night 244. However, Barnett withdrew after being unable to travel due to Hurricane Milton and was replaced by UFC newcomer Sean Sharaf. Tafa won the fight by technical knockout in the second round.

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
9 matches 6 wins 3 losses
By knockout 6 1
By submission 0 1
By decision 0 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 6–3 Sean Sharaf TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Royval vs. Taira October 12, 2024 2 2:15 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 5–3 Valter Walker Submission (heel hook) UFC 305 August 18, 2024 1 4:56 Perth, Australia
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 Heavyweight debut.
Win 1–0 Taisei Sekino TKO (punches) Beatdown Promotions 1 July 9, 2022 1 1:06 Eatons Hill, Australia Light Heavyweight debut.

Professional boxing record

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 Australia David Tuliloa TKO 3 (4) 15 Sep 2022 Australia Nissan Arena, Nathan, Australia
1 Draw 0–0–1 Australia Jayden Joseph SD 4 3 Jun 2017 Australia Melbourne Park Function Centre, Melbourne, Australia

Kickboxing & Muay Thai record

Kickboxing & Muay Thai Record (Incomplete)
23 Wins (19 (T)KOs), 5 Losses, 0 Draws
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time
2021-04-24 Win Australia Christian Balz Eruption Muay Thai 20 Brisbane, Australia KO (Right cross) 1 0:55
2020-12-11 Win Australia Callum Godfrey Eruption Muay Thai 2019 Brisbane, Australia KO (Right hook) 1 0:24
2019-05-17 Loss Turkey Cihad Kepenek Glory 65: Utrecht Utrecht, Netherlands Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00
2018-12-18 Loss Morocco Jamal Ben Saddik Glory 62: Rotterdam, Heavyweight Tournament Quarter-Finals Rotterdam, Netherlands TKO (2 Knockdowns) 1 2:55
2018-09-14 Win United States Haze Wilson Glory 58: Chicago Chicago, Illinois, United States TKO (Referee stoppage) 1 1:35
2018-07-20 Win United States Anthony McDonald Glory 55: New York New York City, United States TKO (3 Knockdowns) 1 2:20
2018-02-16 Loss Romania Benjamin Adegbuyi Glory 50: Chicago, Heavyweight Contender Tournament Final Chicago, Illinois, United States TKO (leg kicks) 2 0:31
2018-02-16 Loss Brazil Guto Inocente Glory 50: Chicago, Heavyweight Contender Tournament Semi-final Chicago, Illinois, United States Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
2017-10-14 Win China Quanchao Luo Glory 46: China Guangzhou, China TKO (three knockdowns) 1 1:34
2016-08-22 Win Australia Kings of Kombat 18 Melbourne, Australia KO 1 0:25
2015-12-05 Win Australia Jacob Francis Caged Muay Thai 7 Brisbane, Australia KO (Right cross) 1 1:40
2014-12-06 Win Australia Aaron Cannings Caged Muay Thai 5 Brisbane, Australia TKO (punches) 3 0:13
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

See also

Notes

References

  1. "Junior Tafa ("The Juggernaut") | MMA Fighter Page". Tapology. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
  2. "Kiwi Justin Tafa's journey from NRL prospect to UFC heavyweight". Stuff.co.nz. 9 February 2020.
  3. "Junior Tafa to appear in eight-man heavyweight tournament at Glory 62 in Rotterdam". sportingnews.com. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  4. "GLORY 50 results: Grigorian TKO's Groenhart, wins WW title". fightmag.com.au. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  5. "Junior Tafa Looking for Rematch With Benjamin Adegbuyi". kickboxingz.com. Archived from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  6. Williams, Shar. "GLORY Returns to Rotterdam with Eight-Man Heavyweight Tournament". combatpress.com. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  7. "GLORY 62 Results: Ben Saddik Captures Heavyweight Tournament". combatpress.com. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  8. van Dinter, Sean (6 April 2019). "GLORY 65 Utrecht: Junior Tafa treft Cihad Kepenek". vechtsportinfo.nl. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  9. "Glory'de Cihad Kepenek Rüzgarı". fightclub.com.tr. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  10. AlexBehunin (27 November 2022). "Highlights! Watch Mini Tafa Score Another First Round Finish Ahead Of RIZIN Debut". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  11. "【RIZIN】大みそかBellator対抗戦の最後のカードは武田光司！ 榊原CEOも期待「満場一致でお願いしたい」（オリコン）". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  12. "【RIZIN】スダリオ剛が98秒KO負け！マーク・ハント門下のジュニア・タファの剛腕に沈む（ゴング格闘技）". Yahoo!ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2 January 2023.
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  14. Steve Duncan (20 January 2023). "Change of plans: Junior Tafa will face Waldo Cortes-Acosta at UFC 284". mma.uno. Retrieved 20 January 2023. (in Spanish)
  15. Carlos Contreras Legaspi (8 February 2023). "UFC: Waldo Cortés-Acosta will face Marcos Rogerio 'Pezao' de Lima in April". espndeportes.espn.com. Retrieved 9 February 2023. (in Spanish)
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  17. Pillay, Byron (22 April 2023). "Nigeria's Mohammed Usman Secures Victory Over Junior Tafa at UFC Fight Night". SportsBrief - Sport news. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  18. "UFC Matchmaking Bulletin (7/10-7/16): Charles Jourdain Returns Against Ricardo Ramos, Three Cancellations". MMA News | UFC News, Results & Interviews. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  19. Theodosi, Jamie (26 August 2023). "Parker Porter Gets First Round KO'd By A Tafa For The Second Time This Year". Cageside Press. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  20. Matt Erickson (26 August 2023). "UFC Fight Night 225 bonuses: Max Holloway's Fight of Night dedicated to Lahaina, Maui". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  21. Cruz, Guilherme (21 November 2023). "Justin Tafa vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima added to UFC 298". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  22. Nolan King and Mike Bohn (16 February 2024). "Junior Tafa steps into UFC 298 matchup on one day's notice after brother injured". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  23. Jay Anderson (17 February 2024). "UFC 298: Marcos Rogerio de Lima Decimates Junior Tafa with Calf Kicks". casesidepress.com. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  24. Newswire, MMA Fighting (30 January 2024). "UFC Vegas 88: Ribas vs. Namajunas full card confirmed". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  25. Heck, Mike (3 March 2024). "Justin Tafa returns the favor, steps in for brother Junior to face Karl Williams at UFC Vegas 89". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  26. Christopher Reive (1 July 2024). "UFC 305: Kai Kara-France books return against Steve Erceg in Perth; seven more bouts confirmed". nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  27. Jay Anderson (17 August 2024). "UFC 305: Junior Tafa Scream Results in Technical Submission Win for Valter Walker". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  28. Nolan King (29 September 2024). "Chris Barnett gets new opponent for UFC Fight Night 244". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  29. Brendan Bradford (8 October 2024). "Junior Tafa's reaction to Chris Barnett pulling out of this weekend's UFC". ntnews.com.au. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  30. Shawn Bitter (12 October 2024). "UFC Vegas 98: Exhausted Junior Tafa Finishes Equally Spent Sean Sharaf in Grueling Slugfest". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  31. "Junior Tafa MMA Stats". Sherdog. Retrieved 6 June 2022.

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