Heavyweight Junior Tafa is the first of 10 heavyweight rookies the UFC should sign in 2023 in order to compete in big fights.
Tafa (4-0) will face Contenders alumnus Austen Lane (12-3) at UFC 284 on February 11, 2023.
ESPN is the official broadcast partner of the UFC, Recently added rounds to the active lineup. Preliminary card scrapping will take place in the UFC 284 early heats.
Taffa, who fought at RIZIN 40 on New Year’s Eve, will fight at home in Australia with brother Justin Taffa on Perska. A kickboxer who has competed for Glory, he has performed flawlessly in four fights so far.
All four of Tafa’s wins in MMA have come within range. Just over a minute and a half into the Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN card just two weeks ago, he stopped Tsuyoshi Sudario with his fists.
Austin Lane May Be Best Remembered As Greg Hardy’s First Opponent Dana White’s Contenders Collection. That fight didn’t go his way. But he persevered, starting 2020 with a six-game winning streak that brought him back into the Contenders last year.
This time, Ryan grounded Ricardo Jacoby in the opening round of their match. That earned Ryan a UFC deal, and he will make his debut against Taffa.
UFC 284 will take place on February 11, 2023 (February 12, local time) at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia; Islam Makhachev will welcome lightweight champion Alexander Volkanovski for a lightweight fight in the main event. The second title fight, an interim belt fight, will see Josh Emmett take on Yael Rodriguez at featherweight.
The following matches have been reported so far:
- Islam Makhachev (c) vs. Alexander Volkanovski – For the UFC Lightweight Championship
- Yair Rodríguez vs. Josh Emmett – Interim UFC Featherweight Champion
- Jake de la Maddalena vs. Randy Brown
- Loma Lookboonmee vs. Elise Reed
- Justin Taffa vs. Parker Potter
- Tyson Pedro VS Zhang Mingyang
- Jimmy Klute vs. Alonzo Menifield
- Joshua Culibao vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan
- Shannon Ross vs. Claydesen Rodriguez
- Jack Jenkins vs. Don Chenes
- Jamie Mulaki vs. Francisco Prado
- Sean Young vs. Black Beard
- Zubaira Tukhugov vs. Elves Brenner
- Junior Tafa vs. Austen Lane
