JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Justin Tafa has experienced hard fights at the highest level, and he intends to see if Austen Lane is prepared for that same test at UFC on ABC 5.
Tafa (6-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) is charged with welcoming former NFL player Lane (12-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) to the octagon in Saturday’s featured heavyweight bout, which takes place at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena and airs on ABC following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
It’s a big platform for Lane to be making his promotional debut, especially against Tafa, who said he’s quite comfortable going into his seventh UFC appearance. Tafa will be leaning on that experience, and said it’s going to be on Lane to prove he can hang.
“He’s got more fights than me, but I feel like I’m more well experienced against more quality fighters,” Tafa told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC on ABC 5 media day. “I’ve been in the deep end in some scraps, and I don’t know if he has. We’ll see on Saturday if he’s about that life.”
To hear more from Tafa, watch his complete UFC on ABC 5 media day interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 5.
