Australian heavyweight fighter Justin Tafa returns to action at UFC 284. He is scheduled to face Parker Porter in the main card of the event. The card is going down inside the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Alexander Volkanovski will challenge the lightweight champ Islam Makhachev in the main event of the night. Hometown fighter Jack Della Maddalena is also on the card.
Parker Porter will come back inside the Octagon after an absence of 9 months. He lost to Jailton Almeida in his last fight via submission in May 2022. However, he did beat Josh Parisian, Chase Sherman, and Alan Baudot successively prior to that. His only other loss was on his UFC debut against Chris Daukaus at UFC 252.
What’s fight night without some HEAVYWEIGHT action!? 💪@Justin_Tafa and @Parker_Porter throwing down tomorrow at #UFC284!
[ Order tomorrow’s ESPN+ PPV: https://t.co/xFq6ldwHKy ] pic.twitter.com/W68aEA05X6
— UFC (@ufc) February 11, 2023
Justin Tafa, on the other hand, has been inconsistent so far in his UFC run. His resume includes wins over Juan Adams and Harry Hunsucker. However, Tafa has also lost to Yorgan De Castro, Carlos Felipe, and Jared Vanderaa. So the bout this weekend will give him the chance to even out his record in the UFC. So let’s analyze the stats to figure out who is the favorite to win at UFC 284.
UFC 284: Justin Tafa vs Parker Porter, Stats
Stats | Justin Tafa | Parker Porter |
---|---|---|
Wins | 5 | 13 |
Losses | 3 | 7 |
Height | 1.83 m | 1.83 m |
Division | Heavyweight | Heavyweight |
Reach | 188 cm | 190.5 |
Age | 29 | 37 |
Tafa vs Porter: Fight Breakdown
Justin Tafa (MMA Record: 5-3) is relatively new in the sport. Having made his pro-MMA debut in 2018, he joined the UFC in 2019. However, his 3 losses do suggest that the move was perhaps not the wisest one. Despite the 3 losses, his wins have been spectacular. All 5 of his wins have come via stoppage and he has finished all those fights inside 2 rounds.
Month to go 🙏🏾🤞🏾 pic.twitter.com/4YNgfvLyLn
— Justin Tafa (@justin_tafa) January 11, 2023
As opposed to Tafa’s 8 fights, Parker Porter has 19! It means, he has more than twice the experience. In terms of his losses, Parker Porter has 3 KO and submission losses each. Also, he was disqualified against Keith Bell for back-of-the-head punches. However, he also has 5 KO wins and 3 submissions in his career.
Both fighters have finished 13 of their opponents combined. So fans can expect to see an entertaining fight come Saturday. Tafa lands 5.02 strikes per minute. He also has a striking accuracy of 55%. However, as per UFC stats, he also absorbs 5.94 strikes per minute. In terms of grappling, he is yet to secure ant takedowns and holds a 100% takedown defense.
Parker Porter (MMA Record: 13-7), on the other hand, lands 6.49 strikes per minute. But, he also absorbs more than 6 strikes per minute as well. But, what makes him stand out, is his grappling accuracy. The 37-year-old secures 1.45 takedowns per fight as well. He has 5 takedowns in his UFC career so far. So Porter does have the advantage if he can get the bout to the ground this Saturday.