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Australian UFC fighter Junior Tafa has revealed how a chaotic rugby league brawl in Queensland helped end his football career and set him on the path to the UFC.
Speaking to Fox Sports Australia ahead of UFC 325 in Sydney, Tafa shared the story of his final rugby league game, which ended with a police escort and a lengthy suspension.
“When it came to footy, I wasn’t much good,” Tafa told Fox Sports Australia. “I only ever played because my brothers did. In my last ever game, I actually received a police escort out of the ground and got suspended for 16 weeks.”
Tafa explained the incident happened during a bush footy match in Queensland: “I was playing out in country Queensland,” he said, “and this one guy, he headbutted me in a tackle.”
“So I told him ‘man, you do that again and I’m going to smash you’. Then next tackle, he goes and does it again. So I’ve pumped him,” he added.
“Then from there, we both get sent off to the dressing rooms …”
The situation escalated when both players were taken to the same changing area: “They were right next to each other,” Tafa said. “So we’ve ended up in the same shed for another go.”
Tafa recalled being escorted off the field alongside his mother during the away game.
“I remember thinking ‘yeah, sorry mum’,” he said, adding: “And she actually said to me ‘that’s it, you’re never playing again’. So that was my last ever game of rugby league.”
Tafa now competes in the UFC and will fight Billy Elekana this weekend, hoping to continue his rise on one of the sport’s biggest stages.
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