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
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.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 12: (R-L) Junior Tafa of Australia punches Sean Sharaf in a heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 12, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
“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.”
“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. ”
Junior Tafa def. Sean Sharaf, UFC Fight Night 244
“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.
