A bruising heavyweight scrap has landed on February’s UFC 284 card in Perth, Australia.
That fight will see New Zealand’s Justin Tafa throw down with American Parker Porter, likely as part of the preliminary portion of the promotion’s Australian return. MMA Junkie was first to report the news on Tuesday, with Porter later confirming the booking on social media.
Tafa (5-3) snapped a two-fight skid care of a head kick KO of Harry Hunsucker at UFC Vegas 45 last December. What would have been an otherwise celebratory moment, however, was marred by the fact that Tafa missed weight for the bout — becoming the first heavyweight in UFC history to do so.
“Bad Man” Tafa had been expected to return against Don’Tale Mayes at UFC 277 in August, but was forced to withdraw from the bout for undisclosed reasons.
With a 2-3 record in his UFC career to date, Tafa will look to even out his record at .500 when he takes on Parker Porter. The American saw a three-fight win streak snapped by Jailton Almeida in his last outing, ending up submitted by the Brazilian late in the opening round of their match-up.
Prior to that setback, Porter had secured wins over Josh Parisian, Alan Baudot, and Chase Sherman. A former Bellator MMA and CES MMA fighter, he’s 3-2 through five trips to the octagon.
UFC 284 will take place at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia on February 11, 2023 (Feb. 12 locally). The following match-ups have been reported for the event, which sees the UFC return to Australia for the first time since prior to the coronavirus pandemic setting in:
- Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa
- Tyson Pedro vs. Zhang Mingyang
- Jack Jenkins vs. Don Shainis
- Justin Tafa vs. Parker Porter
