Justin Tafa got the closure he was looking for earlier tonight (Sat., Sept. 9, 2023) at UFC 293 live on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia, when the heavyweight veteran stopped Austen Lane with a vicious first-round knockout. The main card matchup was a rematch of their first meeting back at UFC Jacksonville this past June, which ended in a gruesome eye poke that rendered Tafa unable to fight (see HERE).
Oddly enough, Lane ended up poking Tafa in the eye again in the opening moments of Saturday’s rematch. It wasn’t anything serious, but certainly brought back bad memories for Tafa. Luckily, Tafa was able to regain his composure and do what he does best.
With just over a minute off the clock Tafa landed a brutal overhand left that dropped Lane. Tafa stood there for a second looking for the referee to step in. The ref didn’t so Tafa jumped on Lane and unloaded massive punches. Lane stood no chance and ate some pretty nasty shots before the fight was waved off.
Check out the highlights below courtesy of UFC/ESPN:
For complete UFC 293 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
