Junior Tafa replaces brother, accepts UFC 298 bout on 1 day's notice

What a turn of events for the Tafa family Friday.

Just minutes into UFC 298 weigh-ins in Anaheim, the UFC announced that Justin Tafa was injured and out of his heavyweight bout against Marcos Rogerio de Lima. Less than two hours later, Tafa's brother, Junior, agreed to step up on one day's notice and face Rogerio de Lima on Saturday at the Honda Center.

Junior weighed in at 249 pounds - well below the heavyweight limit - with just five minutes left in the two-hour weigh-in window. Rogerio de Lima also made weight.

A first in UFC history: Junior Tafa showed up at #UFC298 weigh-ins replaced injured brother Justin Tafa against Marcos Rogerio de Lima. 😳 pic.twitter.com/e7pzHcbeAm
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 16, 2024

Junior, 1-1 in the UFC, has a fight booked against Karl Williams at the March 23 UFC Fight Night event in Las Vegas. The status of that matchup is unclear at this time. Junior is coming off a first-round knockout of Parker Porter last August.

Rogerio de Lima is looking to get back on track after suffering a first-round TKO defeat to longtime heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis at UFC 291 last July.

In the UFC 298 main event, featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski defends his belt against Ilia Topuria.