Ahead of his belated UFC debut, there's no prizes for guessing what Australian heavyweight Junior Tafa has planned for Mohammed Usman when they fight in Las Vegas next month.
For Tafa, the story has been the same whether he's been boxing, kickboxing or fighting in MMA: He wants big knockouts and plenty of them.
"I take each fight the same way — I go in there to end dudes, bring as much pain as I can and I want to knock dudes out. That's what I love doing. That's what gets me off," Tafa said.
"My last eight fights, across all forms, I've knocked them all out. I made my MMA debut last July and, by December, I was the top heavyweight in Australasia.
"I love the knockouts because it's quick. I love getting paid for it after. It feels like all the stress of your life, the bills you have to pay and everything else, that's all over because the fight is over and nobody can say anything, the judges can't rob you.
"It's in your hands when you knock someone out. That's what I like the most, there's no questions asked.
The 26-year old Tafa is far from your usual UFC debutant — he has experience with top kickboxing promotion Glory and Japanese MMA institution Rizin FC.
If that wasn't enough, a brief foray into boxing last year further showed Tafa's thunderous power when he knocked out an opponent who outweighed him by 40 kilos.
Normally a light-hevyweight, Tafa will step up in weight to fight Usman, the older brother of former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru.
However, Tafa is confident his experience and the guidance of his brother, Justin — a six-fight UFC veteran who is riding a two-fight win streak — will help him avoid any false starts on debut.
"I was signed to Glory at 20 years old. That's the highest platform of kickboxing there is. I competed all around Europe, Asia. I fought at Madison Square Garden. So, I know how to fight on the world stage, on the big stage," Tafa said.
"I want to let them know I'm a knockout artist. If you want knockouts, watch the Tafa brothers — there's a lot of bad brothers in the UFC, and me and my brother are like that. We're scrappers. We're here to knock dudes cold."
A series of injuries stopped Tafa making his UFC debut on the same card as his older brother in Perth at UFC 284 last month.
Fighting on the same night remains a career goal for the brothers, one which becomes a step closer should Tafa down Usman in Las Vegas.
"I still had a brother in there, in Perth, so I was still invested in the night. My brother got the only knockout of the night, a walk-off, but it would've been nice for two of us to be together and get them," Tafa said.
"That's the dream, but I try not to think about it too much or bring out the tissues."
