Justin Tafa demands his win money after a controversial no contest at UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs Topuria. Read about the eye poke incident and the larger conversation it sparked.
Justin Tafa Demands His Win Money From the UFC In
Justin Tafa was met with a no contest in his bout with Austen Lane at UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs Topuria. However, he is a bit unhappy with the way this situation was handled.
The Controversial Eye Poke
The heavyweight clash between Tafa and Lane was expected to be a wild one, but it ultimately ended in just under 30 seconds. In the middle of an exchange, Lane stuck an open hand out, leading to one of the gnarliest eye pokes in the history of the UFC.
Disagreement Over the Outcome
This eye poke would cause Justin Tafa to lose sight in his eye, before it began bleeding and swelling up. As a result, despite his efforts to keep fighting, the doctor called a stop to the contest, with the bout being declared a no contest .
However, Tafa does not agree with the way the bout ended, as he explained with a post to his Twitter shortly after the contest. Here, he demanded the UFC pay him his win money, as he feels like Austen Lane should have been disqualified, which would have resulted in a win for him, rather than the bout being declared a no contest .
A Larger Conversation
This was a seriously unfortunate series of events that neither Justin Tafa nor Austen Lane wanted to see happen when they stepped into the Octagon in Jacksonville. Although there is a good reason for the Australian to want his full purse, this also lends itself to a larger conversation that has been being had recently, about whether or not the split purse structure should even still exist.
