The Tafa brothers substitution circle is complete.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that Justin Tafa will now face Karl Williams at UFC Vegas 89, which takes place March 23 at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. Tafa replaces his brother Junior Tafa after Junior previously replaced Justin on just 24 hours’ notice at UFC 298 in February to face Marcos Rogerio de Lima. MMA Mania was first to report the switch.
Justin Tafa suffered an undisclosed injury during UFC 298 fight week ahead of his scheduled matchup with de Lima before his younger brother stepped up and was stopped in the bout. The elder Tafa is unbeaten in has past four outings, including three first-round knockout victories.
Williams enters the bout on a six-fight win streak, including victories in his first two promotional appearances against Lukasz Bzreski and Chase Sherman.
UFC Vegas 89 will be headlined by a women’s flyweight bout between former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas and Amanda Ribas.