Justin Tafa Speaks Out After Brutal UFC Jacksonville Eye Poke

UFC heavyweight Justin Tafa was left fuming after his fight against Austen Lane at UFC Jacksonville ended in a no-contest due to an accidental eye poke. Tafa and Lane were just starting to heat up before the incident occurred. The referee called a stop to the fight, and it was ruled a no-contest. Tafa was left with a gruesome eye injury, and he took to social media to express his frustration.

I deserve my Win bonus that’s a DQ man pic.twitter.com/CMNdW0ZUtL

— Justin Tafa (@justin_tafa) June 24, 2023

 Justin Tafa’s Reaction

Tafa posted a graphic photo of his eye on Instagram, showing the extent of the damage. He also posted a video of the incident, which clearly shows the accidental eye poke. In the caption, Tafa lashed out at Lane, calling him a “coward” and accusing him of faking the injury. Tafa also criticized the referee for stopping the fight as a No Contest, saying that he was “robbed” of his win bonus and that Lane should have been disqualified.

Austen Lane responds to Tafa’s reaction

Former NFL player Austen Lane, who was making his long-awaited UFC debut against Tafa, responded to the post, saying that he was looking forward to fighting Tafa. Lane then apologized to Tafa for accidental eye poke.

“Justin Tafa… I apologize,” he wrote. “Not how I wanted it to go down. That s*** is on me and I hope your eye is alright.

“To the city I call home. The energy you gave me as I was walking out will be something I’ll remember the rest of my life. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you show.”