Junior Tafa

Pascall Saumani Milo Jr. (born 21 September 1996), known as Junior Tafa, is an Australian mixed martial artist, former professional kickboxer and boxer who currently competes in the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Background Junior Tafa is the brother of former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight, Justin Tafa. He is of Samoan descent. He and his siblings were raised by a single mother, Pouli Amanda Tafa.

Kickboxing career Tafa participated in the 2018 Glory four man heavyweight tournament, alongside D'Angelo Marshall, Guto Inocente and Benjamin Adegbuyi. Tafa lost his semi-final fight to Inocente, but advanced due to Inocente suffering a cut during their bout. In the finals he met Benjamin Adegbuyi. Adegbuyi focused on landing leg kicks, and won the fight in the second round by TKO, after dropping Tafa three times.

On December 8, 2018, he entered the Glory 62 Heavyweight tournament He lost in the quarter final against Jamal Ben Saddik by TKO second round.

Tafa faced Cihad Kepenek at Glory 65: Utrecht on May 17, 2019. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts career Early career Debuting in July 2022, Tafa won his first two bouts on the Australian regional scene, both by TKO stoppages.

Tafa then faced Nicolas Djurdjević on November 26, 2022, at BRAVE CF 66. He won the bout via TKO stoppage two minutes into the bout.

Tafa faced Tsuyoshi Sudario on December 31, 2022, at Rizin 40. He won the fight by TKO via punches in the first round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship In January 2023, it was announced that Tafa had signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was scheduled to make his promotional debut against Austen Lane at UFC 284 on February 11, 2023. However, Lane withdrew due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Waldo Cortes-Acosta. In turn, it was announced a few days later that Tafa withdrew due to injury and the bout was scrapped.

Tafa faced Mohammed Usman on April 22, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 222. Tafa lost bout via unanimous decision.

Tafa faced Parker Porter on August 26, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 225. He won the bout via knockout in the first round. This win which earned him a Performance of the Night award.

Tafa, on one day's notice, faced Marcos Rogério de Lima, replacing his injured brother Justin Tafa, on February 17, 2024, at UFC 298. He lost the bout by technical knockout in round two.

Tafa was scheduled to face Karl Williams on March 23, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 53. However, Tafa was pulled from the event due to injury and he was replaced by his brother Justin Tafa.

Tafa faced Valter Walker on August 18, 2024, at UFC 305. After Tafa screamed in pain, the referee called off the fight resulting in Tafa losing the fight via a heel hook technical submission at the end of the first round.

Replacing Waldo Cortes-Acosta and on short notice, Tafa was scheduled to face Chris Barnett on October 12, 2024 at UFC Fight Night 244. However, Barnett withdrew after being unable to travel due to Hurricane Milton and was replaced by UFC newcomer Sean Sharaf. Tafa won the fight by technical knockout in the second round.

Tafa was expected to face Tuco Tokkos in a light heavyweight bout on May 3, 2025 at UFC on ESPN 67. However, the bout was removed from the card as a result of injuries from both fighters. The pairing was rescheduled and eventually took place on July 12, 2025 at UFC on ESPN 70. Tafa lost the fight via an arm-triangle choke submission in the second round.

Tafa was scheduled to face İbo Aslan on September 28, 2025 at UFC Fight Night 260. However, the bout was canceled due to an injury with Tafa.

Tafa faced Billy Elekana on February 1, 2026 at UFC 325. He lost the fight via a second round rear-naked choke submission.

Tafa faced Kevin Christian on May 2, 2026, at UFC Fight Night 275. He won the fight via knockout in round one.

Replacing Billy Elekana who withdrew for undisclosed reasons, Tafa faced Iwo Baraniewski on June 6, 2026 at UFC Fight Night 278. He lost the fight by technical knockout via a leg kick and punches in the first round.

Tafa was scheduled to face Liu Ce on August 30, 2026, at UFC Fight Night 286. However, Tafa pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Levi Rodrigues Jr.

Championships and accomplishments Ultimate Fighting Championship Performance of the Night (One time)

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Iwo Baraniewski TKO (leg kick and punches) UFC Fight Night: Muhammad vs. Bonfim

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Kevin Christian KO (punches and elbows) UFC Fight Night: Della Maddalena vs. Prates

Perth, Australia Loss

Billy Elekana Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 325

Sydney, Australia Loss

Tuco Tokkos Submission (arm-triangle choke) UFC on ESPN: Lewis vs. Teixeira

Nashville, Tennessee, United States Win

Sean Sharaf TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Royval vs. Taira

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Valter Walker Submission (heel hook) UFC 305

Perth, Australia Loss

Marcos Rogério de Lima TKO (leg kick and punches) UFC 298

Anaheim, California, United States Win

Parker Porter KO (punch) UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. The Korean Zombie

Kallang, Singapore Loss

Mohammed Usman Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Tsuyoshi Sudario TKO (punches) Rizin 40

Saitama, Japan Win

Nicolas Djurdjević TKO (punches) Brave CF 66

Bali, Indonesia Win

Kelvin Fitial KO (punches) Hex Fight Series 23

Melbourne, Australia Win

Taisei Sekino TKO (punches) Beatdown Promotions 1

Eatons Hill, Australia

Professional boxing record

Kickboxing & Muay Thai record

2021-04-24 Win

Eruption Muay Thai 20 Brisbane, Australia KO (Right cross)

2020-12-11 Win

Eruption Muay Thai 2019 Brisbane, Australia KO (Right hook) 1 0:24

2019-05-17 Loss

Glory 65: Utrecht Utrecht, Netherlands Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00

2018-12-18 Loss

Glory 62: Rotterdam, Heavyweight Tournament Quarter-Finals Rotterdam, Netherlands TKO (2 Knockdowns) 1 2:55

2018-09-14 Win

Glory 58: Chicago Chicago, Illinois, United States TKO (Referee stoppage) 1 1:35

2018-07-20 Win

Glory 55: New York New York City, United States TKO (3 Knockdowns) 1 2:20

2018-02-16 Loss

Glory 50: Chicago, Heavyweight Contender Tournament Final Chicago, Illinois, United States TKO (leg kicks) 2 0:31

2018-02-16 Loss

Glory 50: Chicago, Heavyweight Contender Tournament Semi-final Chicago, Illinois, United States Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00

2017-10-14 Win

Glory 46: China Guangzhou, China TKO (three knockdowns) 1 1:34

2017-04-28 Win

Eruption Muay Thai 14 Mansfield, Australia KO 1

2016-11-19 Win

Muay Thai Warriors Action 18 Toowoomba, Australia Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00

2016-08-19 Win

Kings of Kombat 18 Melbourne, Australia KO (Right cross) 1 0:25

2015-12-05 Win

Caged Muay Thai 7 Brisbane, Australia KO (Right cross) 1 1:40

2015-05-16 Loss

Muay Thai Action 15 Toowoomba, Australia Decision 3 3:00

2014-12-06 Win

Caged Muay Thai 5 Brisbane, Australia TKO (punches) 3 0:13