Sitting in the glow of the Nashville sunshine ahead of his sixth bout in the UFC, Junior Tafa can appreciate the position he finds himself in.
No stranger to the UFC octagon at this point, the 28-year-old will square off against Tuco Tokkos on Sunday in a bout that brings a different structure for the Australian-born, Auckland-raised fighter.
For the first time in his UFC career, Tafa will move down to light heavyweight, competing at 92.9kg. It’s a weight class he hasn’t fought in since his first professional mixed martial arts bout in 2022.
Tafa was scheduled to make the move earlier in the year against the same opponent but because of injuries, it was kicked down the road.
Ending up being rebooked against Tokkos wasn’t something he specifically sought, but it’s a match-up he’s happy to take.
“They just gave me the same guy and postponed it, so I just thought ‘it is what it is’. I’ll fight anyone; doesn’t matter who it is,” he says.
The “I’ll fight anyone” line is one often heard in combat sports, but is a line Tafa has proven.
In February last year, he stepped in on 24 hours’ notice against then-top 15 ranked heavyweight Marcos Rogerio de Lima at UFC 298 in California after his older brother, Justin, was injured in training and forced to withdraw. He was beaten by second-round TKO, with de Lima’s leg kicks paving the way to victory for the Brazilian.
It was Tafa’s third bout with the UFC and he says it taught him a valuable lesson.
“Stay ready. I was too busy out enjoying the beautiful food of California. They had amazing tacos; it’s one of the highlights,” he grins.
“Then to wake up the next day [to people] saying ‘hey, you’re going to fight on the undercard for Alex Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria’, it was an easy decision, but it was like, ‘man, I shouldn’t have eaten all them tacos’.”
Tafa fought three times in 2024 for two losses and a win, but his second-round stoppage win in Las Vegas in October – his sixth knockout in six career wins – put him back in the winner’s circle, and he ended the year signing a multi-bout extension with the UFC.
Through his MMA career so far, Tafa has been working to make things happen. Outside his debut in the sport, he fought at heavyweight - where the weight limit is 120.2kg - largely because it was easier for him to get fights at the weight class.
But now he has made it to the big show, he’s looking to move to a more natural division.
“The goal was to get to the UFC as quick as I can. I had five fights in six months [four MMA and one boxing], and it was easier to get heavyweight fights at the time. Then, when I signed to the UFC, I was getting heavyweight fights,” he explains.
“I told them maybe it’s time to go to a natural weight class, which [is] light heavy.”
In preparation for this weekend’s bout, Tafa returned to New Zealand and put in some work at Auckland’s City Kickboxing gym, alongside fellow UFC fighters including light heavyweight Navajo Stirling – who beat Tokkos in his promotional debut late last year.
The new contract and move to a lighter weight class hasn’t changed his plans around how active he wants to be, though, as he says he would fight every month if he could. More realistically, he’s hopeful of getting the win over Tokkos and booking a place on the card for the UFC’s return to Perth in September – and perhaps squeeze one more in after that if everything goes to plan.
“As a kid growing up, I never knew this could be a possibility. So, now I want to take full advantage of it and give this next contract my best, so here we are.”
Tokkos poses a good first assignment for Tafa at light heavyweight. While the Englishman is without a win in his UFC outings to date, he holds a 10-5 professional record with six wins by knockout, two by submission and two by decision.
While it’s a new assignment for Tafa, the game plan, in its purest form, doesn’t stray too far from those that have come before it.
“I just see it as an opportunity to add to my highlight reel. He’s a talented bloke, he comes from a talented gym, very good coaches, very good training partners, so I expect to see the best version of him.
“But this is also the best version of me. The game plan is simple: take his head off.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.