“God willing, if I return to fight again, I will be a lot healthier and able to show you my true potential. If not, then God has something else planned in store for me. I appreciate all the support and love, you guys pushed me on when I thought I couldn’t. What a ride.”
Going 4-5 with one no-contest in 10 appearances inside the UFC octagon, Tafa made a name for himself as an all-or-nothing competitor happy to exchange with his opponent. That style was clearly what the promotion wanted to see from its heavyweights, with Tafa given a main card spot on all five pay-per-view events he was part of, while he was also the co-main event on a fight night card last year.
After being spectacularly knocked out in his UFC debut in 2019, he bounced back with a knockout win in 2020, before stringing together three fights in 2021.
His last bout that year – a first-round knockout win via head kick – saw him claim an unwanted piece of history as the first UFC heavyweight to miss weight. He remains the only athlete in the promotion to weigh in above the 120.6kg maximum for the division.
Tafa was twice booked to compete in 2022, but pulled out of both bouts with a hip injury. He returned with three appearances in 2023 – two wins by knockout and one no-contest – before injuries again hindered his opportunities to compete in 2024 and 2025.
Most recently, Tafa was scheduled to appear on last month’s fight night in Perth, but withdrew during fight week because of illness. In total, he was booked for 17 bouts in his six years in the UFC, withdrawing from seven of those.
He takes his break from the sport with a record of 7-5 and one no-contest. All seven of his wins were by knockout.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
