Mohammed Usman Booked Against Junior Tafa For April 22nd
A brother-against-brother matchup between Mohammed Usman and Junior Tafa was announced for UFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes on April 22nd in Las Vegas, Nevada, inside the UFC Apex, per Marcel Dorff.
This bout takes place in the Heavyweight (265 lbs) division.
Mohammed "The Motor" Usman holds a professional record of 8-2 (1-0 UFC), holding notable wins over Zac Pauga, Mitchell Sipe, and Eduardo Perez.
Junior "Juggernaught" Tafa has a professional record of 4-0 (0-0 UFC) and has significant wins over Tsuyoshi Sudario, Nicolas Djurdjević, and Kelvin Fitial.
Odds have yet to be released.
Mohammed Usman is the younger brother of former UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman, and he had a career-best year in 2022. Usman participated in the 30th season of The Ultimate Fighter, where Juliana Pena coached him against team Amanda Nunes. "The Motor" would pick up two decision victories across the season, grinding himself a ticket to the TUF Finale, taking a main card slot on UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Hill. He would face fellow TUF teammate Zac Pauga and knock him unconscious at the beginning of the second round with a left hook, winning the tournament and the UFC contract. Now, Usman will face Tafa in his next matchup and will look to use his explosive striking and wrestling credentials to secure his second UFC win.
Junior Tafa is the younger brother of UFC Heavyweight fighter Justin Tafa, who recently secured a colossal knockout over Parker Porter at UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski. Although Tafa has only four MMA bouts, he's a former GLORY kickboxing fighter with a professional kickboxing record of 3-4 and a boxing record of 1-0-1. All four of Tafa's MMA victories have come by knockout, and he's yet to enter the third round. Not much is known about his MMA prowess, but many questions will be answered when he debuts in the octagon against Usman. "Juggernaught" will look to use his GLORY-level striking and knockout ability to secure victory in his UFC debut.
This should be an exciting matchup in the Heavyweight division. Which younger brother will reign supreme? As a member of the Verdict Community, let us know your prediction in the comments below.
