LAS VEGAS – Junior Tafa beat Sean Sharaf with a second-round TKO Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 244 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Tafa, who struggled in the first, but came on in the second to spoil Sharaf’s short-notice UFC debut.
Junior Tafa def. Sean Sharaf
Result: Junior Tafa def. Sean Sharaf via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:15
Updated records: Tafa (6-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC), Sharaf (4-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
Key stats: Tafa stuffed seven of Sharaf’s eight takedown attempts.
Tafa on the fight’s key moment
“I was really quite excited to have someone who’s going to trade off standing up – we can entertain the fans and get a better chance of winning that bonus, so it was quite freaking annoying when he started shooting on me.”
Tafa on two late changes
“I only got called up for this fight as a replacement fighter. I was actually on vacation with my family and my kids when I got told about this fight, and I ended up having like a week’s worth of training to coming in here. We had a game plan for Chris Barnett, and then they switched up fight week for a new opponent – which then, the game plan switches again. It just became fight whatever is in front of you. The game plan switched that quick. ”
Tafa on what he wants next
“My name is ‘Mr. Anytime.’ Give me a call and I’m there. This is my second late-notice fight this year. I took a fight in Anaheim (Calif.) in March on less than 24 hours’ notice. I’m here less than a week’s notice (opponent), so it’s like you can call me ‘Mr. Anytime’ now … ‘Mr. Anytime, Anywhere.'”
To hear more from Tafa, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.
