Justin Tafa is out of UFC 298 with a knee injury. Photo: Jonty Dine
With an injury forcing Justin Tafa out of UFC 298 his little brother Junior has stepped up to take his spot on just one day's notice.
Justin was originally scheduled to fight Marcos Rogério de Lima (21-10-1) as the featured prelim on the Anaheim card.
However, a knee injury during grappling prior to weigh-ins has seen the younger Tafa make history as the latest replacement ever to a fight card.
Junior (5-1) is fresh off a knockout victory over Parker Porter last August, bouncing back from a loss to Mohammad Usman in his octagon debut.
Posting on the Tafa Gang Instagram account, Justin was seen performing 10 press ups, which he joked was the extent of his training camp.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Junior said he wasn't born for training camps, he was born to fight.
"I started my kickboxing career with these late notice fights, I came in and knocked the lights out of them."
Junior said the conversation with the UFC matchmaker wasn't a long one.
"He goes, 'are you really keen?' and I said, 'Fighters fight, man'."
He said he was hurting for his brother.
"But what's been done has been done and we just have to make a good situation out of a shit one. My brother would have done the damn thing, my brother has my back the same way I have his back."
Junior is also set to fight in the co main event at a fight card on March 24, against Karl Williams.
UFC 298 will be headlined by a featherweight championship bout between Alexander Volkanovski and challenger Ilia Topuria.
