Before Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis take center stage, a number of key fights take place on the main card as well as the prelims of UFC 305. Chief among them was Junior Tafa vs Valter Walker at heavyweight. Unfortunately, the fight ended with Tafa displaying unsportsmanlike conduct which has fans clamoring for his contract to be terminated.
During fight week and the build up to the fight, there was no bad blood between the two men. However, that changed once they stepped in the cage as they had to be separated after Walker secured a submission win in the very first round of the fight.
Tafa was visibly upset for being submitted in the first round, and once the referee called the fight, he walked up to, and and lightly slapped Walker on his face.
Luckily for him Walker took it well as it could very well have been an all out brawl following that incident.
Fans on Twitter were obviously not as kind with many demanding his head for the slap.
One fan said, “terminate his contract.”
terminate his contract
— (@JodyyMMA) August 18, 2024
Another fan had a similar train of thought saying, “Dana might cut him for that.”
Dana might cut him for that
— goober (@inkonomi) August 18, 2024
“Fire This bum.”– said a fan who was visibly displeased with Tafa’s actions.
Fire This bum
— Ajudante Geral (@Maikondougl4) August 18, 2024
Another fan demanded similar punishment for Tafa saying, “Suspend his ass @ufc @danawhite.”
Suspend his ass @ufc @danawhite
— Sam Sherifi (@SherifiSam) August 18, 2024
“If Mokaev gets cut for his actions, Tafa should be too. What a loser”– said another fan
If Mokaev gets cut for his actions, Tafa should be too. What a loser
— tonio (@ANTONIOEESPARZA) August 18, 2024
Tafa is already walking a fine line and risks being cut by Dana White, not because of his actions tonight but because of his overall record in the company
Junior Tafa to bid farewell to the UFC?
Tafa joined the UFC from Rizin in 2023, making his debut in April against Kamaru Usman’s brother, Mohammed Usman. Unfortunately for him, the it did not go as he would have liked as he succumbed to a loss.
And then he recovered some momentum as he bounced back with a win against Parker Porter in August of the same year.
Unfortunately for the Kiwi, 2024 has meant a reversal of the fates again.
Tafa has fought twice this year with both fights being losses. This means that he has won just one of his four fights in the UFC.
Of course, since White isn’t known to be kind to fighters who don’t win or don’t put up a show, Tafa will need to get a win, a string of those for that matter or risk being cut from the organization. In the midst of all this, slapping your opponent doesn’t really help your cause.
