It’s been a rough couple weeks for UFC Heavyweight Justin Tafa.
“Bad Man” was supposed to fight in his home country of Australia two weeks ago at UFC Perth opposite promotional newcomer Louie Sutherland, something of a bounce back matchup after consecutive losses. Instead, Tafa was sent to the hospital during his weight cut, and his bout was quickly cancelled because Australia actually has an athletic commission (unlike Shanghai).
On Tuesday, Tafa broke his silence via social media and revealed that he intends to take some time away from fighting. Based on his wording, it’s not entirely clear whether Tafa was released from the UFC roster outright, but it seems likely given his status as the only Heavyweight in UFC history to miss weight … and that was before his aforementioned hospitalization from the recent weight cut.
“Taking time out of this fight game,” Tafa wrote on Instagram. “The body and mind needs time to recover, six major surgeries in the last three years does that to you. Time to enjoy the other fruits of life for now and enjoy watching my kids grow. Thank you @ufc had some good times in there.
“God willing If I return to fight again I will be a lot healthier and able to show you my true potential. If not then God has something else planned in store for me. I appreciate all the support and love, you guys pushed me on when I thought I couldn’t. What a ride.”
Hopefully, Tafa’s body will recover well from the time off. If indeed his UFC career is over, the aggressive knockout artist would surely be a good fit for an organization like Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. As it stands, Tafa walks into his time away with a 4-5 (1) UFC record and is 7-5 (1) overall as a professional with all of his wins coming via stoppage.
At 31 years of age, there’s still plenty of time for Tafa to heal up and reconsider his fighting career.
