The heavyweight division of mixed martial arts is the forge for which size, power, and skill are all melded together in a captivating ballet. The Octagon will host a fight between two interesting fighters on Sunday 18th August with rangy striker Valter Walker taking action against power-punching powerhouse Junior Tafa. There is no doubt that this matchup will be exciting to watch as two completely different styles fight each other for superiority.
Fighter Profiles
Valter Walker
A behemoth heavyweight hailing from Brazil, Valter Walker is every bit as big and long as his 81-inch reach would lead you to believe standing at a towering 6’6″ on the feet. Sporting a professional record of 11-1-0, Walker is known to be an effective striker who uses his range well. He has plenty of kicks and punches at his disposal but looks comfortable in the clinch as well.
He was on an impressive 4-win streak until Lukasz Brzeski won him by unanimous decision some 4 months ago. Walker is 26 years 8 months and weighs 119.7 kg (5 more than his opponent of the night) and has a reach of 206cm (81 inches). The Russian native will be keen on bouncing back from his last defeat but will face tough opposition from his adversary, who also needs a makeover from his last fight.
Junior Tafa
Junior Tafa is a compact powerhouse from Australia with explosive striking and a never-ending forward march. Tafa is 6-foot-3 with a shorter reach of 72 inches but has raw power and is aggressive. Tafa is 5-2 and has shown some knockout potential, but his overall game remains a work in progress.
Stylistic Breakdown
Here’s a match-up of very opposite styles between Walker and Tafa. Initially, Walker will likely attempt to work from a distance utilizing his kicks and punches due to the reach advantage he brings in. Alternatively, Tafa will look to get up close and personal where he can use his power punching abilities.
The story here will be Walker’s ability to control range and keep from getting stuck up against the fence. If he can utilize his reach to control the pace, Tafa may become frustrated and end up eating clean shots. But if Tafa can catch up, it can turn into a street brawl and Walker could get his chin tested.
The clinch is another key area to watch for. Walker might have an edge in the clinch, considering he has a nine-inch reach advantage and more than six years of experience over Tafa; however, that does not make The Juggernaut any less determined.
Walker boasts of an 80% takedown accuracy, while on the other hand, Tafa boasts of an 81% takedown defense. This alone tells you we’re in for fireworks come August 18th.
Keys to Victory
Victory for Walker will likely require him to control distance, land big strikes, and not get drawn into brawls. Using his reach to apply leg kicks and put some body shots on Tafa could be key; long term, trying to disrupt the rhythm of the Queensland native. The defensive grappling and clinch work will be important as well in terms of negating takedowns and taking the pop out of Tafa’s strikes.
There are still some days until the fight and I will be monitoring any latest developments closely to bring you the most accurate prediction possible.
Update
Among the preliminary cards for the UFC 305 bout Du Plessis vs. Adesanya, this Valter Walker vs Junior Tafa is one of the highly anticipated fights with 2 fierce fighters known for their brutal knockout skills. Junior won all his 5 fights by knockout, while Valter Walker won 55% of his fights via knockout.
Junior Tafa has that extra motivation the home crowd brings to the table and I expect him to leverage this to win the fight. The Australian native is very good at defending takedowns; hence we might not see the fight get to the ground regardless of Valker’s attempts.
The bookie odds are also telling of a close match-up, with 1.816 for a Tafa win vs 2.136 for a Valter win. An analysis of these odds shows some caution from the bookmakers, which is reasonable enough given that both fighters present similar characteristics and skill sets.
Valter will try to use his reach advantage to keep Tafa away, but the Australian has kickboxing and boxing experience, with a great foot game. One well-landed leg-kick from The Juggernaut will be enough to put Valter to sleep.
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