Under new management, Queensland promotion XFC returns on Friday night with their heavyweight champion Justin Tafa making his first title defence against David Taumoepeau.
The bout will headline XFC 41 taking place at the Mansfield Tavern on Brisbane’s southside.
Justin Tafa brings a 2-0 record to the cage but don’t let that inexperience turn you away with the heavy-handed heavyweight a regular training partner of Tai Tuivasa, Mark Hunt and his brother, ranked Glory kickboxer, Junior Tafa. In just his second professional bout, Justin needed only 28-seconds to knock-out Jeremy Joiner to claim the XFC title back in July. Next up in his way will be Canberra based David Taumoepeau
Nicknamed ‘DJ The Warmonger’, Taumoepeau fights out of the Hill Sports Academy under the tutelage of Ben Edwards and Duke Didier. The 31-year-old brings a 3-1 record with his lone loss coming at the hands of Cameron Dempsey last year in HEX Fight Series. He bounced back earlier this year with a victory over Ugur Kocak at Monaro Fight Series. A win over Tafa on Friday will be the biggest of his career thus far.
Also on the four-fight pro card, Sam Flint comes up against Sam Flint and Josh Robson Sr. clashes with Nathan Wilson while the exciting Dimps Gillies returns and will face Joey Karami.
Accompanying the pro card will be a 14-fight amateur card.
Fight Card (Pro):
- Justin Tafa vs. David Taumoepeau – XFC heavyweight title
- Sam Flint vs. Anthony Barbuto
- Josh Robson Sr. vs. Nathan Wilson
- Dimps Gillies vs. Joey Karami
Fight Card (Amateur):
- Christian Merino vs. Bruno Playfair
- Tim Schultz vs. Jordan Thomas
- Viktor Lyall vs. Tai Hardy
- Jamie Sporne vs. Michael Pritchard
- Quinlan Kelly vs. Matthew Van Hoff
- Luke Zilic vs. Panapa King
- Tala Hellesoe vs. Kevin Sheridan
- Liam Brewster vs. Mark Richardson
- Tione Sage Uchiha vs. Coby Porter
- Isaac Berndt vs. Auston Eleftheriou
- Trevor Sinclair vs. Craig Bright
- Ryan Leavey vs. Marcu Foote
- Alex Young vs. Nick Smith
- Christopher Hanlan vs. Omid Al Amir
XFC 36: Justin Tafa & Jackson Small claim titles; Kaela Banney defends women’s atomweight belt
XFC 39 Recap: After losing main event; amateur title fights headlined card
