Walter Walker spoke about his upset win over Junior Tafa at UFC 305 on Saturday.
Walker faced Tafa in a featherweight qualifying bout at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Walker kept Tafa on the ground throughout the first round, then landed a heel hook that drew screams from the New Zealander. Walker did not tap, but referee Steve Percival stopped the bout at 4 minutes, 52 seconds into the first round.
Tafa appeared to protest briefly against the stoppage before confronting Walker and slapping his unsuspecting opponent while surrounded by security. Regarding the stoppage, Walker said he would have broken Tafa’s leg if the referee had not intervened.
“If the ref hadn’t stopped me, I would have broken his leg,” Walker said during the post-match media scrum. “I went back with his leg, and the coach said, ‘It’s broken,’ and I broke it. Instead of going for the tap, I went at him screaming.”
Walker said Tafa is not the kind of guy to go on a dirty rampage and attack him just because he didn’t land any hits during the fight. “The Clean Monster” also called out Tafa’s brother, Justin Tafa, to defend the family’s honor. Walker cited Junior Tafa as the first to predict that he would knock him out, and then his brother, Johnny Walker, as the reason for his call. Walker has no doubt that if Tafa had lost, his brother would have stepped up to defend the family’s honor.
“He talked about my brother. He said, [he] “You’re going to knock me out in the first round, and then you’re going to knock my brother out in the first round,” Walker said. “And if I fall asleep in the first round, my brother’s going to come in and knock me out.” [defend the] It’s our family name. Now I know his brother [comes to defend the] His family name. His brother, come fight with me and protect your brother.
“During the fight, he can’t slap me, and when I wasn’t ready, when the guy grabbed my arm, he slapped me in the face. He’s not manly, no. His [if] “He’s my brother. Next is his brother. Whatever, he slapped me in the face. I’ve never slapped another guy in the face. I have kids, he has kids. And he disrespects me… He just makes it ugly.”
Walker added that he would like to face Tafa as soon as possible.
Saturday’s win marked Walker’s first at UFC, having suffered his only career defeat in his promotional debut in April when he lost a unanimous decision to Lukas Brzeski, while Junior Tafa began his pro career with four straight knockouts, but that success hasn’t translated to UFC, as he is currently 1-3 and in a two-fight slump.
