Tag: UFC Jacksonville

MMA fans react to the brutal eye poke Justin Tafa suffered at UFC Jacksonville

Justin TafaJustin Tafa had a brief yet disastrous trip to the Octagon on Saturday night as the promotion returned to the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena for UFC Jacksonville. Tafa was scheduled for a main card appearance against heavyweight debutant Austen Lane, and things started off well for the heavyweight scrappers. Throwing heavy leather in the early […]

Justin Tafa

Justin Tafa had a brief yet disastrous trip to the Octagon on Saturday night as the promotion returned to the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena for UFC Jacksonville.

Tafa was scheduled for a main card appearance against heavyweight debutant Austen Lane, and things started off well for the heavyweight scrappers. Throwing heavy leather in the early going, it looked as though fans would be in for a real treat. However, things took a turn for the tragic just 29 seconds into the matchup when Tafa threw a looping counter-left and was met with a finger directly to his right eye. Though unintentional, it was an especially egregious foul as the slow-motion replay clearly showed that Lane’s finger went at least one knuckle deep into Tafa’s eye socket.

The contest was immediately paused, and things began to look especially serious when fans saw Justin Tafa’s eye begin to drip blood and swell profusely. To his credit, Tafa used his full five minutes in an attempt to recover, but with his sight compromised, the referee had no choice but to call for a stoppage, dubbing the bout a no-contest.

Many fans were horrified at the sight, likening it to the brutal eye poke Belal Muhammad suffered against current welterweight world champion Leon Edwards in 2021. Bro, take this guy to the hospital ASAP, before he loses his sight,” MMA coach Eric Nicksick tweeted in response to the incident.

MMA Twitter Reacts to Justin Tafa’s Nasty Eye Injury from UFC Jacksonville

Ilia Topuria batters Josh Emmett in decision win following blistering performance – UFC Jacksonville Highlights

Ilia Topuria lands blistering decision win over Josh Emmett at UFC JacksonvilleRemaining undefeated and moving to 14-0 as a professional, surging featherweight contender, Ilia Topuria has likely toppled former interim title challenger, Josh Emmett from the top-5 rankings in the weight class, turning in a brutal five round unanimous decision (50-44, 50-42, 49-45) victory in the main event of UFC Fight Night Jacksonville. Topuria, a native […]

Ilia Topuria lands blistering decision win over Josh Emmett at UFC Jacksonville

Remaining undefeated and moving to 14-0 as a professional, surging featherweight contender, Ilia Topuria has likely toppled former interim title challenger, Josh Emmett from the top-5 rankings in the weight class, turning in a brutal five round unanimous decision (50-44, 50-42, 49-45) victory in the main event of UFC Fight Night Jacksonville.

Topuria, a native of Germany, rode into his premier headliner under the promotion’s banner off the back of a stunning victory back in December, stopping the highly-touted, Bryce Mitchell with a brutal second round arm-triangle choke at UFC 282.

And continuing his rich vein of form tonight in ‘The Sunshine State’, Topuria who has been touted to fight for featherweight gold in the future, dropped former interim championship challenger, Emmett on multiple occasions — knocking the Arizona native from pillar to post over the course of five rounds en route to his unanimous judging triumph.

Likely set to find himself inserted into a title-eliminator at the very least following tonight’s win over Emmett, Ilia Topuria suggested a title fight with the victor of next month’s UFC 290 headliner, which features featherweight champions, Alexander Volkanovski, and Yair Rodríguez in a championship unification bout.

Below, catch the highlights from Ilia Topuria’s decision win over Josh Emmett

Justin Tafa suffers horrifying injury following unintentional eye-poke – UFC Jacksonville Highlights

Justin TafaHeavyweight standout Justin Tafa suffered one of the nastiest eye-pokes in recent memory, forcing referee Dan Miragliotta to stop the bout a mere 29 seconds in at UFC Jacksonville. Things started off fast and furious between Tafa and UFC debutant Austen Lane in their main card clash on Saturday. During the exchange that ultimately ended […]

Justin Tafa

Heavyweight standout Justin Tafa suffered one of the nastiest eye-pokes in recent memory, forcing referee Dan Miragliotta to stop the bout a mere 29 seconds in at UFC Jacksonville.

Things started off fast and furious between Tafa and UFC debutant Austen Lane in their main card clash on Saturday. During the exchange that ultimately ended things early, Lane threw a big right hand which prompted Tafa to counter with a looping left over the top. In an attempt to defend, Lane raised his left hand, which was wide open, and appeared to get at least one knuckle deep into Tafa’s right eye. The bout was immediately paused, and Tafa was given a full five minutes in an attempt to recover, but during that time, his eye began to bleed and swell significantly.

Tafa repeatedly advised the cageside physician that he was unable to see, prompting the referee to call for the stoppage less than a minute into the matchup.

Official Result: Justin Tafa vs. Austen Lane ruled a no-contest at 0:29 of Round 1 following an unintentional eye-poke.

Check Out Highlights from Justin Tafa vs. Austen Lane at UFC Jacksonville:

Brendan Allen scores first-round submission against Bruno Silva in fast-paced clash – UFC Jacksonville Highlights

Brendan AllenNo. 13 ranked middleweight contender Brendan Allen scored his fifth-straight win inside the Octagon on Saturday at UFC Jacksonville. Allen and Silva delivered a frenetic pace in their brief but entertaining encounter inside the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Early in the contest, Allen looked to be in trouble after getting rocked by a solid right […]

Brendan Allen

No. 13 ranked middleweight contender Brendan Allen scored his fifth-straight win inside the Octagon on Saturday at UFC Jacksonville.

Allen and Silva delivered a frenetic pace in their brief but entertaining encounter inside the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Early in the contest, Allen looked to be in trouble after getting rocked by a solid right uppercut from Silva, but ‘All In’ responded with a right hook that put Silva on the canvas. Allen jumped on his man and dropped bombs, looking for a ground-and-pound finish. Silva gave up his back in an attempt to get to his feet which allowed Allen to easily lock in a rear-naked choke. With the hold cinched in, Silva had no choice but to tap out with less than 30 seconds left in the opening round.

Official Result: Brendan Allen def. Bruno Silva via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:39 of Round 1.

Check Out Highlights from Brendan Allen vs. Bruno Silva at UFC Jacksonville:

Neil Magny outlasts Phil Rowe in closely-contested scrap – UFC Jacksonville Highlights

Neil MagnyWelterweight mainstay Neil Magny outlasted budding contender Phil Rowe in a closely contested war that was mostly done in the clinch during the UFC Jacksonville featured prelim. Phil Rowe looked to bring the pressure early, pushing Magny against the fence and working in the clinch, but that played right into Magny’s skill set. The Haitian […]

Neil Magny

Welterweight mainstay Neil Magny outlasted budding contender Phil Rowe in a closely contested war that was mostly done in the clinch during the UFC Jacksonville featured prelim.

Phil Rowe looked to bring the pressure early, pushing Magny against the fence and working in the clinch, but that played right into Magny’s skill set. The Haitian Sensation’ Simply outworked Rowe while in the clinch, landing twice as many strikes and, in the process, surpassed former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman for the most significant strikes in the division’s history.

The bout failed to excite fans inside the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, but it served a purpose by allowing Magny to retain his No. 11 spot in the welterweight rankings.

Official Result: Neil Magny def. Phil Rowe via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Check Out Highlights from Neil Magny vs. Phil Rowe at UFC Jacksonville:

Ilia Topuria predicts win over Alexander Volkanovski in UFC title fight: ‘I’m going to finish him in the first round’

Ilia Topuria predicts win over Alexander Volkanovski I'm going to finish him UFCAhead of his premiere headlining bout under the banner of the UFC this weekend in Jacksonville, Florida – surging featherweight contender, Ilia Topuria remains supremely confident that he stops current division titleholder, Alexander Volkanovski in the opening round of a potential future fight. Topuria, who boasts an undefeated 13-0 professional record, returns to the Octagon […]

Ilia Topuria predicts win over Alexander Volkanovski I'm going to finish him UFC

Ahead of his premiere headlining bout under the banner of the UFC this weekend in Jacksonville, Florida – surging featherweight contender, Ilia Topuria remains supremely confident that he stops current division titleholder, Alexander Volkanovski in the opening round of a potential future fight.

Topuria, who boasts an undefeated 13-0 professional record, returns to the Octagon for the first time this year, headlining UFC Fight Night Jacksonville, as he takes on the number five ranked featherweight contender, Josh Emmett – whom most recently competed for interim featherweight gold back in February in Australia.

Attempting to continued his stunning undefeated run against the Arizona veteran, Topuria most recently featured at UFC 282 back in December of last year, defeating The Ultimate Fighter alum Bryce Mitchell with a second round arm-triangle submission success. 

The victory came as Topuria’s fifth consecutively since joining the UFC back in 2020, having previously defeated Youssef Zalal, as well as landing a trio of consecutive knockout wins over Damon Jackson, Ryan Hall, and Jai Herbert before his submission triumph over Mitchell.

Ilia Topuria eyes dominant win over Alexander Volkanovski

And fast-approaching a title fight, which can only be aided with a victory against Emmett this weekend in ‘The Sunshine State’, Topuria envisions a one-sided win over incumbent gold holder, Volkanovski.

“I’m the next guy in the line,” Ilia Topuria told assembled media during his UFC Jacksonville media availability. “Who deserves it more than me to fight for the title? No one else. So I’m the next guy.”

“As same as always,” Ilia Topuria replied when asked how a fight with Alexander Volkanovski would play out. “I’m gonna finish him in the first round.” 

As for Volkanovski, the New South Wales favorite is slated to headline UFC 290 during International Fight Week next month, taking on the aforenoted, Yair Rodríguez in a featherweight title unification bout.