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Junior Tafa
New Zealand-born Australian mixed martial artist From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Pascall Saumani Milo Jr.[1] (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).
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Background
Junior Tafa is the brother of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight, Justin Tafa. He is of Samoan descent.[2]
Kickboxing career
Tafa participated in the 2018 Glory four man heavyweight tournament, alongside D'Angelo Marshall, Guto Inocente and Benjamin Adegbuyi.[3] Tafa lost his semi-final fight to Inocente, but advanced due to Inocente suffering a cut during their bout.[4] 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.[5]
On December 8, 2018, he entered the Glory 62 Heavyweight tournament[6] He lost in the quarter final against Jamal Ben Saddik by TKO second round.[7]
Tafa faced Cihad Kepenek at Glory 65: Utrecht on May 17, 2019.[8] He lost the fight by unanimous decision.[9]
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Mixed martial arts career
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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.[10]
Tafa faced Tsuyoshi Sudario on December 31, 2022, at Rizin 40.[11] He won the fight by TKO via punches in the first round.[12]
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.[13] However, Lane withdrew due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Waldo Cortes-Acosta.[14] In turn, it was announced a few days later that Tafa withdrew due to injury and the bout was scrapped.[15]
Tafa faced Mohammed Usman on April 22, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 222.[16] Tafa lost bout via unanimous decision.[17]
Tafa faced Parker Porter on August 26, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 225.[18] He won the bout via knockout in the first round.[19] This win which earned him a Performance of the Night award.[20]
Tafa, on one day's notice, faced Marcos Rogério de Lima, replacing his injured brother Justin Tafa, on February 17, 2024, at UFC 298.[21][22] He lost the bout by technical knockout in round two.[23]
Tafa was scheduled to face Karl Williams on March 23, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 53.[24] However, Tafa was pulled from the event due to injury and he was replaced by his brother Justin Tafa.[25]
Tafa faced Valter Walker on August 18, 2024, at UFC 305.[26] 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.[27]
Replacing Waldo Cortes-Acosta and on short notice, Tafa was scheduled to face Chris Barnett on October 12, 2024 at UFC Fight Night 244.[28] However, Barnett withdrew after being unable to travel due to Hurricane Milton and was replaced by UFC newcomer Sean Sharaf.[29] Tafa won the fight by technical knockout in the second round.[30]
Tafa was expected to face Tuco Tokkos in a light heavyweight bout on May 3, 2025 at UFC on ESPN 67.[31] However, the bout was removed from the card as a result of injuries from both fighters.[32] The pairing was rescheduled and eventually took place on July 12, 2025 at UFC on ESPN 70.[33] Tafa lost the fight via an arm-triangle choke submission in the second round.[34]
Tafa is scheduled to face İbo Aslan on September 28, 2025 at UFC Fight Night 260.[35]
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Mixed martial arts record
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| 10 matches | 6 wins | 4 losses |
| By knockout | 6 | 1 |
| By submission | 0 | 2 |
| By decision | 0 | 1 |
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Professional boxing record
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Kickboxing & Muay Thai record
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See also
Notes
References
External links
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