Justin Tafa and Walter Walker at the UFC 305 weigh-in. Photo credit: Youtube/UFC
The first of two heavyweight bouts at UFC 305 in Perth, Australia, featured Junior Tafa facing off against Walter Walker.
Coincidentally, the two were brothers and fellow fighters, Justin Tafa and Jonny Walker, who also fought under the UFC banner. That wasn’t important, but the family ties would come into play a little later.
Heavy punches flew early in the bout when Tafa let go. The crowd went wild, but Walker weathered the storm. Shortly after, Walker applied a body lock and put his weight on Tafa, forcing him to his knees. Tafa quickly got back to his feet, but Walker was still hanging on and scored a takedown a few minutes later, despite Tafa grabbing the fence.
This time, Walker stayed in top position longer, settling into his guard and trying to land some ground-and-pound, while Tafa was nowhere near the fence and nowhere near ready to escape. After catching Tafa with a heel hook, Walker was in good position, but Junior started yelling, and the referee was called, who deemed the yell a verbal submission and the fight was stopped.
The fans weren’t happy about it, the UFC broadcasters seemed to forget the rules, and there was a lot of confusion on air, but there’s little doubt that Walter Walker won.
Junior Tafa was apparently upset by the stoppage and briefly attempted to attack Walker after the bout, including slapping him, but then regained his composure and Walker subsequently demanded a fight against Tafa’s brother, Justin, after he was not happy that Junior had targeted his brother, Johnny Walker, in a future light heavyweight bout.
Official result: Walter Walker defeats Junior Tafa by technical submission (heel hook), 1st round, 4:56
