The UFC 312 card is living up to the expectations. Fans expected high-octane action and that is exactly what they are getting. One of the finest examples of it was the 34-second quick fight between the Brazilian Tallison Teixeira and Justin Tafa. A finish so good, that Joe Rogan couldn’t help but be shocked by the beauty of it.
Tafa was already coming off his first loss in almost three years when he lost a unanimous decision to Karl Williams at UFC Vegas 89 on March 23.
The New Zealander was going through an undefeated streak of four fights (three wins and one No-Contest), however, Teixeira came prepared. Just 34 seconds into the fight, the Brazilian landed a knee to Tafa’s body and followed it up with a nasty elbow that knocked the lights out of ‘Bad Man.’
Watching the fight live on the JRE Fight Companion, Joe Rogan first believed that it was an illegal knee strike by ‘Xicão.’ “That was an illegal knee. Yeah, he’s down when he hit him with that knee. I’m pretty sure with the new rules, he might not has his knee all the way to the ground yet. We’d have to see it again. But my first instinct was that that was an illegal knee.”
However, upon watching the replay, all his doubts were cleared and all Joe Rogan could do was just praise the brute strength of the strikes. He said while reacting to the TKO, “There’s the knee to the body, that elbow looks nasty. That’s a nasty knee too. Oh my goodness. That’s perfect. Right there, see fully down. Oh my god, that’s insane. That’s so good. 100% bro, 100% that nose is gone.”
IT’S OVER IN 35 SECONDS #UFC312
Tallison Teixeira KO’s Justin Tafa in round one! pic.twitter.com/HgdkFyQMJ1
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) February 9, 2025
Tallison Teixeira, who came out of Dana White’s Contender Series, came into the fight undefeated as a professional MMA fighter. The 25-year-old fighter had earned seven wins by finishes, six of them by way of KO/TKO, all in the first round. Now, he has continued his winning and finishing streak yet again with this amazing performance at UFC 312 that surely left Joe Rogan impressed as evidenced by the reaction. However, this wasn’t the only quick fight of the night.
Local fighter debuts with knockout in 19 seconds
Australia started UFC 312 strong. During the opening prelims of the card, Quinlan Salkilld (8-1) made his debut in the UFC with the fastest knockout of his MMA career. The 25-year-old Australian landed a forehand with which he sent Anshul Jubli to the ear in just 19 seconds. Emerging from the Contender Series, the Perth-born lightweight beat his personal best of a 32-second KO win from back when he was a part of Eternal MMA.
Anshul Jubli, the first Indian fighter to fight for the UFC, suffered a second straight loss. The winner of the Road to UFC 155-pound tournament was coming off a three-round knockout loss by Mike Breeden on October 21. So, it would be interesting to see if Dana White continues to show his support to the fighter or decides to cut him off after his previous two performances failed to impress fans and pundits alike.
However, the only thing that might work in his favor is the controversy surrounding this fight. Many believe it was an early stoppage, while some claim otherwise. Let’s see if Joe Rogan reacts to the fight or talks about it in the coming days since his pointers would hold a lot of weight. But for now, the only quick fight that he reacted to and left him impressed was the 34-second TKO by Tallison Teixeira. What did you think of the quick fights? Let us know in the comments.
The post “100% That Nose Is Gone”- Joe Rogan Erupts at Illegal Knee From Tallison Teixeira Against Justin Tafa KO at UFC 312 appeared first on EssentiallySports.
