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Justin Tafa and Juan Adam’s fates are strangely intertwined: Tafa lost on home soil before beating Adams on the latter’s home turf.
Justin Tafa knows what is like to fall short on home turf, and so he understand what Juan Adams is going through.
Tafa, a New Zealand native who resides in Australia, was knocked out cold in his UFC debut at UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya in Melbourne. In his next outing at UFC 247, he finished hometown hero Adams in Houston.
“If you look back and replay the video of the fight, after the fight you can clearly hear me say, ‘this happened to me in Melbourne so you can bounce back from this,” Tafa told Bloody Elbow. His advice for Adams: “At first it’s like, just surround yourself with your loved ones and what not. Really take some time out and evaluate things. Once your mental health is ready to go through another camp, set up another fight.”
Tafa’s goals in the UFC go deeper than championships. The heavyweight often talks about his goals to inspire fellow Polynesians.
“These days, man, a lot of people find themselves lost. Especially trying to find themselves… When I was young, I always looked up to Samoan fighters like David Tua and Mark Hunt. I always was like, ‘Man, imagine that opportunity to inspire so many young Samoans. That’s the dream,” he shared. “In this day and age, Samoans, Tongans, all the Polynesians, we’re very talented people and what not. Sometimes we get lost between trying to do our family proud and trying to live up to society’s pressures and what not and we have religion too. We just get lost. I just want to show people, especially the young Polys, this is how you do it.”
Tafa also touched on a shout-out he received from Adesanya after 243.
“I’m just humbled you know. I was really proud. Izzy put that photo up the day after he won the title fight against Whittaker,” Tafa said. “I just couldn’t believe it. He is on top of the world and he took the time to represent for me.”
Tafa improved his professional record to 4-1 with his first-round finish of Adams at UFC 247: Jones vs. Reyes.