After their botched match-up last June, Justin Tafa and Austen Lane get a second opportunity to fight each other. An unintentional eye poke from the debutant Lane seconds into their heavyweight clash led to the bout being declared a no-contest when Tafa could not continue. Before transitioning to MMA, the New Zealand heavyweight Justin Tafa was a former Rugby player, while Austen Lane played professional football in America. The rematch is billed on the main card of UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia.
MMA: UFC Heavyweight
Venue: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia
Where to watch: ESPN+ PPV
Date: 10.09.2023. 5.45
Justin Tafa
Justin Tafa comes from a family of martial artists, with his grandfather being a national boxing champion. He lost his UFC debut in 2019 to Yorgan De Castro, marking his first pro loss. Tafa found the going tough in his early UFC fights, going down 1-3 in his first four fights. He rebounded from two consecutive losses to knockout Harry Hunsucker in December 2021, becoming the first heavyweight in UFC history to miss weight, clocking 267 pounds, one pound over the heavyweight non-title fight limit. Another KO over Parker Porter early this year brought Justin Tafa’s UFC record to 3-3.
Tale of the Tape
- Age: 29
- Height: 6’ 0”
- Reach: 74”
- Record: 6-3-1(NC)
Austen Lane
Following a short professional career where he played for several NFL teams, Austen Lane retired from American football and took up mixed martial arts. The 2010 NFL draft won a UFC contract for the second time after a TKO of Richard Jacobi at DWCS 55 last September. He failed the DWCS hurdle in 2018 when he lost to Greg Hardy—less than a minute into his UFC debut against Justin Tafa at UFC Jacksonville, an eye poke from the former Jacksonville Jaguars player ended the fight.
Tale of the Tape
- Age: 35
- Height: 6’ 6”
- Reach: N/A”
- Record: 12-3-1 (NC)
Betting odds
Justin Tafa is a massive favorite to win the bout with the bookies. Value hunters can bet on the underdog at 2.70 odds on Bet365. A KO or TKO for the favorite is priced at 1.68 on Bet365. Rounds betting on Bet9ja has over 1.5 at 2.70 odds and over 2.5 at 4.17 odds. On 1XBET, the bout to end in round one is priced at 1.62 odds and in round two at 4.33 odds.