Speaking to the Herald, Tafa said he felt better heading into the bout than early in the year but just how much better remained to be seen.
“The leg feels a lot better; the knee was the big issue. The arm was something that I think was wear and tear, then I warmed up before the Karl Williams fight and my whole arm was on fire; number, pins and needles so that kind of thing I wasn’t too familiar with. But I’m hitting hard again so I can’t wait,” he said.
The year so far has been a frustrating one for Tafa, who had to have surgery on a hip injury which kept him sidelined for all of 2022 before returning with two knockout wins in 2023.
“I thought I was going to be ranked by the end of the year, I really thought that,” Tafa said.
“Then after that loss and the surgeries, I’ve had to start again. When Kennedy was fighting de Lima, I’d said before that I’d fight either one of them if one of them pulled out. Then de Lima pulled out.
“He was a ranked opponent, which was surprising for Kennedy’s first fight at heavyweight, but if I stop Kennedy, give me de Lima again.”
Nzechukwu (12-5 MMA; 6-5 UFC) is a name that might be familiar to Kiwi fans of the sport, with the Nigerian being the only man to beat Kiwi light heavyweight Carlos Ulberg.
That fight was in Ulberg’s UFC debut, and the Kiwi has since gone on a six-fight winning streak with five of those coming by stoppage (four KO, one submission) and four in the first round.
“When I starch this guy, I’m going to go to Carlos and be like ‘see, I’ve got your back, bro’ or ‘bro, you owe me a beer. I got him back for you’,” Tafa joked.
“Nah, I just took the fight. When the UFC ask me for scraps I just say yes. I remember when I first heard the name I was like ‘this is the guy Carlos debuted against’ but honestly I just take any fight that they offer.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
