Fight Preview
This Saturday, September 9, at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, one of the main attractions on the UFC 293 undercard will be the heavyweight bout between Justin Tafa and Austen Lane. These two heavyweights had a brief encounter in June, but it was cut short when one of them accidentally poked the other in the eye.
Three months had passed since Tafa and Lane’s initial argument, which was resolved in just a minute thanks to an urgent eye poke. This should be a quick and explosive battle between two bombers that care little about defense, as nothing has changed since then.
Tafa has won all six of his bouts by knockout. He has a 3-0 record in the UFC, having defeated Juan Adams, Henry Hunsucker, and Parker Porter since entering. Yorgan De Castro knocked him out, and Carlos Felipe and Jared Vanderaa won by decision. The average length of a bout involving the Aucklander is five minutes and twenty-two seconds, and he scores 5.02 important strikes per minute with 54% accuracy.
Lane, a former defensive end for the Jacksonville Jaguars, signed with the UFC in September of 2022 after competing in a number of regional promotions. When Lane made his UFC debut in 2018, Greg Hardy knocked him out in just 57 seconds. The athletic Lane has a height and reach advantage over Tafa and is 2-0 in fights that last more than one round.
Tafa, at 6-feet with a 74-inch reach, is the shorter fighter, but he has the clear advantage in punching power and experience. Even though he has already competed twice on Dana White’s Contender Series, Lane is still a relatively untested fighter in the UFC’s eyes.
Tafa lands 5.02 important strikes per minute and has a 54% success rate, while all of Lane’s defeats have been in the first round due to stoppage. These numbers lean somewhat in Tafa’s favor.
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Justin Tafa vs Austen Lane Fight Information
- Date: 09/09/2023
- Time: 10:20 PM ET
- Location: Qudos Bank Arena.
- How to Watch Justin Tafa vs Austen Lane: ESPN+
- Live Stream: BT Sport.com
