Junior Tava has sensationally offered to step in on just one day's notice to replace his older brother Justin at UFC 298, after Justin was forced out late with a knee injury.
Justin, who was scheduled to face Marcos Rogerio de Lima on the preliminary card, injured his right knee just two days before the weigh-in.
But, in a remarkable set of circumstances, Junior performed a quick set of 10 push-ups in a hotel lobby and claimed it was enough training camp to get into the octagon with De Lima on fight day.
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Moments later, Junior was on the phone with UFC officials, and was whisked away for medical examinations and the signing of the fight contract.
While the rest of the fighters on the card were weighing in on Friday morning (Los Angeles time), a dejected Justin — wearing a Toa Samoan bucket hat — could barely walk through the fighter's hotel, confirming to this masthead that he was out of the fight with a right knee injury.
“My last session of camp, my last grappling session, my knee kind of collapsed,” he said.
“I came to the media session afterward limping, and I thought it was going to be okay, but it got worse.
“I had to do the smart thing (and pull out). There's no point in going out there and looking like a piece of concrete. I couldn't hold any weight.”
Tafa said he gave his knee every chance to come back before he had no choice but to withdraw.
“I tried to get treatment after that, but I think I got the wrong kind of treatment,” he said. “I went and did some acupuncture.
“I think it just inflamed it more. I'm sure it might have been a tear in my knee muscle and in my butt.”
“Last night, we went to the batting pads, and I thought I was going to fall, so we had to make a call as a team.”
As Justin cast a forlorn figure as he waited for a car to pick him up and take him back to the Air BnB, Junior reached the deck, did 10 push-ups, and said he was ready to go.
“This is how I want my training camps to be, 10 push-ups every month,” he said. “I wasn't born for training camps, I was born to fight.
“I started my kickboxing career in these late fights. They were expecting a coconut to come, but I came in and turned the lights out on them.”
After his tenth push-up workout, Junior was given 90 minutes to make weight, but claimed he was already under the weight limit of 266 pounds.
Junior already has a bout scheduled against Carl Williams on March 24, but is confident he can compete in both.
Or, he said, if Justin is fit again, his older brother could return against Williams next month.
In another wild twist of fate, the brothers were wrestling with each other when Justin's injury occurred.
“I didn't do it, I swear to God,” Junior said. “I heard a pop in his leg. I didn't want to tell anyone, I was the last one to do the wrestling rounds and I didn't want them to blame me.”
“I didn't have a shirt on, I had nothing to absorb the sweat, and all the sweat went straight to the carpet.
“It wasn't my fault.”
