Justin Tafa will replace his brother Junior Tafa to face Karl Williams at UFC Vegas 89, after Junior had previously replaced Justin at UFC 298 in February.
Well, the Tafa brothers’ substitution saga has come full circle.
Get this. Justin Tafa is now set to square off against Karl Williams at UFC Vegas 89. Yep, you heard it right. The event’s happening on March 23 at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.
Who’s got the scoop? MMA Fighting, of course. They got the confirmation from multiple insiders. And guess who Justin is replacing? His own brother, Junior Tafa.
You might remember, Junior had stepped in for Justin at UFC 298 in February. That was a last-minute thing, just 24 hours’ notice, to face Marcos Rogerio de Lima. MMA Mania was the first to spill the beans on this switcheroo.
So, what’s the backstory? Justin Tafa had to bow out of his UFC 298 fight week due to an undisclosed injury. That’s when his younger bro stepped up. But alas, he was stopped in the bout.
Justin, the elder Tafa, has a pretty impressive record. He’s unbeaten in his past four outings. And get this, three of those were first-round knockout victories.
Now, let’s talk about Williams. He’s coming into this bout riding a six-fight win streak. That includes wins in his first two promotional appearances against Lukasz Bzreski and Chase Sherman.
And the main event? UFC Vegas 89 will be headlined by a women’s flyweight bout. It’s a showdown between former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas and Amanda Ribas.
So, there you have it. The Tafa brothers’ substitution saga, in all its glory.