Junior Tafa and Tuco Tokkos meet Saturday in the main card opener of UFC on ESPN 70 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
Last event: 2-3
UFC main cards, 2025: 64-48-1
Junior Tafa vs. Tuco Tokkos UFC on ESPN 70 preview
Tafa (6-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) moves down to light heavyweight as he looks to get back to .500 in the UFC. Despite winning his last fight by knockout against Sean Sharaf in October, Tafa makes the switch from heavyweight to 205 pounds. … Tokkos (10-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) is hunting for his first UFC win. His debut was last May against Oumar Sy, which was a quick one he lost by submission in the first round. His sophomore appearance was a decision loss against Navajo Stirling.
Junior Tafa vs. Tuco Tokkos UFC on ESPN 70 expert pick, prediction
Despite UFC 317 recently reminding us of the value of card formatting and building around the actually good weight classes like the lighter divisions, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby continue to force-feed us low-level big men on Fight Night cards like it’s some kind of fetish for them.
I mean, I can’t even say that this matchup between Junior Tafa and Tuco Tokkos will be fun for as long as it lasts, because it probably won’t be fun at all and will likely go a lot longer than we want it to (which, I know, is starting sound like a personal problem at this point, but I digress).
It should be noted that Tafa is dropping down from heavyweight for this fight, so it will at least be nice to see him finally competing in his more natural weight class.
Although Tokkos potentially stymying Tafa via a grappling attack for three frames is a real possibility here (and almost a karmic one given the UFC matchmaker’s propensity to tempt fate with their terrible card formatting), I’ll reluctantly pick Tafa to survive the wrestling attempts en route to a knockout win in Round 2.
Junior Tafa vs. Tuco Tokkos UFC on ESPN 70 odds
The oddsmakers and the public are favoring the Australian fighter, listing Tafa -180 and Tokkos +140 via FanDuel.
Junior Tafa vs. Tuco Tokkos UFC on ESPN 70 start time, how to watch
As the main card opener, Tafa and Tokkos are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 9:10 p.m. ET. The fight broadcasts live on ESPN and ESPN+.
