Brother’s keeper! Junior Tafa replaces injured brother, saves Marcos Rogerio de Lima fight at UFC 298

Justin Tafa suffered an undisclosed injury and is unable to face Marcos Rogerio de Lima.

Fortunately, his brother Junior was in town as part of the “Bad Man’s” fight team and was able to step in at the last minute and save the bout. Naturally, that wasn’t made possible without an agreement from De Lima, so kudos to both competitors for sacking up and keeping the UFC 298 late “Prelims” card intact.

UFC 298 takes place on Sat. night (Feb. 17, 2024) at Honda Center in Anaheim.

Tafa (5-1) is coming off a knockout victory over Parker Porter at UFC Singapore last August, bringing his Octagon record to 1-1 after a decision loss to Mohammad Usman in early 2023. De Lima (21-9-1) is looking to rebound from his technical knockout loss to Derrick Lewis at UFC 291 back in July. “Pezao” has been a part of the heavyweight scene since crossing over from Season 3 of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF): “Brazil” nearly a decade ago.

Something tells me this titanic tilt will not see a third round.

LIVE! Watch UFC 298 PPV On ESPN+ Here!

WORLD FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on Sat., Feb. 17, 2024, for the first time in more than two years with its latest pay-per-view (PPV) show. In the ESPN+-streamed PPV main event, reigning Featherweight roost-ruler, Alexander Volkanovski, will defend his 145-pound strap against undefeated surging Spanish contender, Ilia Topuria. In addition, former Middleweight kingpin, Robert Whittaker, will finally square off with mercurial mauler, Paulo Costa, in UFC 298’s co-feature. UFC 298 will also feature the returns of Ian Garry, Geoff Neal, Henry Cejudo, Merab Dvalishvili and so much more!

Don’t miss a single second of EPIC face-punching action!

• STREAM UFC 298

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 298 fight card right RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 298: “Volkanovski vs. Topuria” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 298 fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.