Chris Barnett has a brand new opponent for his long-awaited return to the UFC cage.
Junior Tafa has stepped into UFC Battle Night time 244 rather than Waldo Cortes-Acosta, the promotion not too long ago introduced. The three-round heavyweight bout will happen Oct. 12 on the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Cortes-Acosta’s supervisor Javier Torres, of Skillset Administration, informed MMA Junkie on Sunday an harm was trigger for his consumer’s withdrawal. Cortes-Acosta is anticipated to return in six to eight weeks.
Tafa (5-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) most not too long ago competed at UFC 305 in August when he misplaced to Valter Walker by verbal submission. Tempers flared after the stoppage. Tafa slapped Walker and the 2 had been separated within the cage by safety after the combat. The loss was his second straight.
Barnett (23-8 MMA, 2-2 UFC) hasn’t competed since September 2022. He was booked for 2 different dates since, however withdrew from every. Barnett’s most up-to-date outing was a TKO in opposition to Jake Collier at UFC 279.
With the change, the UFC Battle Night time 244 lineup consists of:
- Brandon Royval vs. Tatsuro Taira
- Jun Yong Park vs. Brad Tavares
- Grant Dawson vs. Rafa Garcia
- Cory McKenna vs. Julia Polastri
- Alex Morono vs. Daniel Rodriguez
- Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Josh Fremd
- Jared Gooden vs. Chidi Njokuani
- Ramazonbek Temirov vs. CJ Vergara
- Jonathan Pearce vs. Pat Sabatini
- Themba Gorimbo vs. Niko Value
- Chris Barnett vs. Junior Tafa
- Dan Argueta vs. Cody Haddon
- Clayton Carpenter vs. Lucas Rocha
For extra on the cardboard, go to MMA Junkie’s occasion hub for UFC Battle Night time 244.
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