Usman vs Tafa

Who won Usman vs Tafa?

Mohammed Usman beat Junior Tafa by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the prelims of UFC Fight Night – Pavlovich vs. Blaydes, on Saturday 22nd April 2023 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The scorecards were announced in favor of the winner Mohammed Usman.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 265 pounds (18.9 stone or 120.2 KG).

Usman vs Tafa stats

Mohammed Usman stepped into the octagon with a record of 8 wins, 2 losses and 0 draws, 4 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 2 by submission.

Junior Tafa made his way to the cage with an unblemished record of 0 wins, 0 losses, and 0 draws.

This was Mohammed Usman's 5th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2022. Junior Tafa marked his 4th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2023.

Mohammed Usman's UFC record stood at 3-2-0, while Junior Tafa's came in at 1-3-0.

The stats suggested Usman had a massive power advantage over Tafa, boasting a 50% knock out percentage over Tafa's 0%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Usman had a large advantage over Tafa, boasting a 25% submission rate over Tafa's 0%.

Mohammed Usman was the older man by 7 years, at 35 years old.

Tafa had a height advantage of 2 inches over Usman.

Usman was arguably the more experienced fighter, having had 10 more fights, and made his debut in 2017, 7 years and 10 months later than Tafa, whose first professional fight was in . He had fought 18 more professional rounds, 30 to Tafa's 12.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Junior Tafa had been fighting more than Mohammed Usman.

Going to this contest, Mohammed Usman had last fought 2 years, 7 months and 24 days ago, while Junior Tafa's last outing had been 1 year, 11 months and 8 days ago.

Usman's last 2 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 10 months and 24 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 11 months and 13 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 4 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2 rounds on average.

Tafa's last 2 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 2 months and 27 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 1 month and 14 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 4 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Usman vs Tafa?

Mohammed Usman was a 1/1 (+100) underdog going into the contest, while Junior Tafa made his way into the ring at 4/5 (-130) with oddsmakers.