A fighter who became the first heavyweight in UFC history to miss weight has confirmed he is taking a break from MMA, just weeks after pulling out of his scheduled bout at UFC Perth.
It has been a difficult couple of weeks for Justin Tafa, who was scheduled to face Louie Sutherland on the Australian Fight Night card in September.
He was hoping to record a win after back-to-back defeats but after a hectic build-up, his bout with Scotland-born Sutherland was cancelled after Tafa was taken ill during his weight cut.
Tafa has since taken to social media to address his next career move as he thanked the UFC for the "good times" from his spell with the company.
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"Taking time out of this fight game," he 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."
He continued: "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," added Tafa. "What a ride."
The 31-year-old, who made his UFC debut in 2019 against Yorgan De Castro following a stint at Xtreme Fighting Championships, has enjoyed mixed success with the company (7-5-0).
But creating an unwanted piece of history was a low point.
Back in 2021, Tafa became the first heavyweight in UFC history to miss weight when he came in at 267 pounds, one pound over the limit, ahead of his scheduled bout against Harry Hunsucker at UFC Vegas 45.
"This week I water-loaded like I usually did, but I lost no weight at all, and I knew by the time it hit Thursday, I was like, 'Damn, man.' Usually I'm down four, five pounds. I knew it was gonna be a hard cut," he told reporters at the time.
"I sauna'd for like 11, 12 hours just to get it and by the time I hit that last pound, I was just like, 'No, I don't think I could fight if I continued.' But you know, the goal of mine was to make history, and that wasn't the way I wanted to," he added.
Jack Kenmare