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Tag: Junior Tafa

  • Iwo Baraniewski Gets Another Finish In Under 90 Seconds

    Iwo Baraniewski Gets Another Finish In Under 90 Seconds

    Make it another quick finish for Iwo Baraniewski, as he made easy work of Junior Tafa to kick off the UFC Vegas 118 main card.

    The two were slow to start, with Tafa notably pinning Baraniewski briefly against the fence. That quickly changed, with things returning to the center of the Octagon, where Baraniewski landed multiple leg kicks.

    The kicks seemed to bother Tafa, with one hurting him so much that he fell to the ground. Baraniewski jumped right on Tafa, landing ground-and-pound until the referee stepped in.

    Iwo Baraniewski Quickly Stops Junior Tafa At UFC Vegas 118

    Baraniewski now extends his undefeated record to 9-0, including a 3-0 UFC record. After earning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, Baraniewski scored quick finishes of Ibo Aslan and Austen Lane, with none of his UFC wins (or his DWCS win) going past 90 seconds.

    Tafa falls to 7-6 in MMA. The kickboxer took this fight on short notice after scoring a first-round finish of Kevin Christian at UFC Perth last month.

  • Junior Tafa Obliterates Kevin Christian With Elbows At UFC Perth

    Junior Tafa Obliterates Kevin Christian With Elbows At UFC Perth

    Junior Tafa avoids falling to .500 as a professional MMA fighter and scored his first UFC light heavyweight win, getting a first-round knockout of Kevin Christian during the UFC Perth prelims.

    Christian found a strong method of attack early, landing some leg kicks that did clear damage to Tafa. Tafa, however, responded by finding his power shots, keeping Christian wary from distance.

    Tafa found his way inside and landed a strong combination that brought Christian to his knees and to the mat. Tafa followed him to the ground, where he proceeded to rain down elbows until Christian was out cold.

    Junior Tafa Puts Away Kevin Christian At UFC Perth

    Tafa is now 3-5 in the UFC, having struggles at both heavyweight and light heavyweight. Tafa was 0-2 in the Octagon at light heavyweight entering this fight, getting submitted by both Tuco Tokkos and Billy Elekana over the last 10 months.

    Christian falls to 9-4 as a pro and 0-2 in the UFC. After winning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2024, he made his UFC debut at UFC Vegas 110, getting submitted by Elekana.

  • VIDEO: Billy Elekana Survives Junior Tafa’s Power, Submits Him At UFC 325

    VIDEO: Billy Elekana Survives Junior Tafa’s Power, Submits Him At UFC 325

    Junior Tafa may have plenty of power in his fists, but Billy Elekana weathered the storm and used his grappling to score a submission victory in the featured prelim of UFC 325.

    Elekana attempted to back Tafa up to the fence, but Tafa rocked him with a strong overhand right. Elekana was able to use his grappling to recover, though he had to escape a standing kimura grip. Elekana would also show his pressure in a takedown attempt, but Tafa was able to defend against it.

    Tafa tried to keep the fight in the center of the Octagon and got to work with his powerful striking. Tafa landed a brutal combination at the end of round one; however, Elekana landed a strong left in the middle of the second — probably the hardest punch of the fight to that point.

    Billy Elekana Submits Junior Tafa At UFC 325

    Elekana then brought the fight to the ground and locked up a body triangle and a choke, scoring the submission victory.

    Elekana, an alumnus of PFL and LFA, has now won three straight since dropping his UFC debut to Bogdan Guskov at UFC 311.

    Tafa has now lost back-to-back fights and is 2-5 since his 2023 Octagon debut.