The bad blood boiled over after a yelling match marked the end of the preliminary card for UFC 305. Valter Walker defeated Junior Tafa by verbal submission via heel hook at 4:56 of Round 1. Referee Steve Perceval stopped the heavyweight bout Saturday at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, when Walker rolled Tafa.
Early stoppages are always chided upon, but this was different. Junior Tafa let out a shrieking yell which caused the stoppage. Tafa took exception to the interruption. He exchanged words with Walker and eventually slapped him. As the two fighters and their teams exchanged words, security stepped in between them. Before Walker cut a pro-wrestling-style promo during his in-cage interview, Tafa flipped the bird at his opponent during the official decision.
Despite some confusion on the part of ESPN commentators Daniel Cormier and Dominick Cruz, the Unified Rules of MMA define a verbal submission as when a contestant makes a verbal announcement to the referee. That he or she will not continue, indicating pain or discomfort. Play-by-play replay showed Tafa clearly shouting in pain, before recovering and flipping the Team GOR MMA fighter.
Following an unsuccessful debut against Lukasz Brzeski in April, the win is Walker’s first in the UFC. Walker is the younger brother of UFC lightweight contender, Johnny Walker. Tafa has now lost two matches in a row. He’s UFC heavyweight Justin Tafa’s younger brother, who he last replaced on short notice. After UFC 298, this is the second outing riddled with a Tafa-physicality that has gone viral.
Fight fans react to possible early stoppage at UFC 305
Valter Walker’s first-round technical submission win over Junior Tafa at UFC 305 at RAC Arena was controversial, to say the least. Not because it was a premature stoppage but because it would come off as so. What’s more surprising is that Tafa got into a violent altercation afterward, contesting the decision. An early stoppage is always a thing in MMA.
Fans react to the submission loss and altercation (Source: heavy.com/X)Even as recent as the UFC 304 PPV’s main event saw signs of an early stoppage until it was debunked by pundits. Tafa slapping his opponent too falls to be not an early stoppage. Moreover, the unsportsmanlike conduct has taken many fans aback. Here’s how they have reacted to it.
Yelling out shouldn’t be considering tapping out.
— mike 🇺🇸 (@MikeOstrander86) August 18, 2024
Everyone who does MMA or jiujitsu knows that a scream is a verbal tap. Day one shit.
— Dropbow (@dropbow) August 18, 2024
Doesn’t matter if we like it or not, the rules are clear… screaming out in pain (which he did) is a tap. It’s not permitted.
Referee did the right thing.
— Ben Hubbard (@benhubbard) August 18, 2024
Johnny Walkers brother is Russian? Wtf
— Vince (@VincenzoPala) August 18, 2024
Most fans have unanimously agreed that they might not get it, but they get the decision. A few others have even jibed down Tafa for yelling and yet lashing out at his opponent for it. Junior Tafa’s pre-fight hit list included the Walker brothers. Now, subsequently, ‘Clean Monster’ Valter, 26, has called on the other Tafs brother to settle this feud. All in all, the decision, and moreover the slap has gone quite viral.
