It has been an interesting path so far for Tafa. A Mark Hunt
protege, Tafa was ridiculously raw upon getting the UFC call in
2019. His three previous fights were all wild affairs, a trend that
continued with his first two UFC fights—a knockout loss to Yorgan De
Castro and a knockout win over Juan Adams.
Then surprisingly, 2021 seemingly saw Tafa overcorrect his issues.
It was impressive in a way to see him go from quick knockout artist
to consistent three-round fighter, but he badly needed to find a
second gear in losses to Carlos
Felipe and Jared
Vanderaa that “Bad Man” easily could have won with a bit more
offense. However, Tafa’s last win did serve as a reminder of the
ridiculous power he can bring to the table. He was expected to run
over Harry
Hunsucker but managed to score a knockout on a kick that his
counterpart seemed to have completely blocked. Tafa is still just
29, so he has years left to work things out as a heavyweight.
Perhaps he will show some progress here. Porter’s late-notice
signing in 2020 was a pleasant surprise, as the Connecticut native
had spent nearly 13 years on the regional scene and did not seem
poised for a call-up. Porter has a solid approach built around
well-rounded pressure but figured to have neither the durability
nor physicality to hang for long at the UFC level—a read that was
seemingly confirmed by his UFC debut ending in a quick loss to
Chris
Daukaus. However, Porter has since settled in as a solid
gatekeeper, grinding out three wins over the lower reaches of the
heavyweight division before running into Jailton
Almeida in 2022. There is a chance for Porter to get another
ugly win if Tafa puts in another flat performance. With that said,
the American historically has not held up against knockout artists
at Tafa’s level, and his typical style means he will likely find
himself charging into the Aussie’s offense. The pick is Tafa via
first-round knockout.
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