Junior Tafa a late sub for brother at UFC 298

IRVINE, Calif. — Go, brother.

Junior Tafa will step in on just one-day notice to fight Marcos Rogerio de Lima in a heavyweight bout at UFC 298 on Saturday. The man Tafa is replacing? His own brother Justin Tafa, who withdrew from the bout Friday morning.

At 9:14 a.m. local time Friday during the official weigh-ins, the UFC announced that Justin Tafa was out of the bout against Rogerio de Lima due to injury. The promotion then got to work on the sibling switcheroo.

Rogerio de Lima eventually accepted Junior Tafa as his new opponent, and Junior Tafa weighed in successfully (249 pounds) at 10:55 a.m., just five minutes before the weigh-in window closed. The heavyweight nontitle limit is 266 pounds. The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) took no issue with the unorthodox change.

Junior, 27, was scheduled to fight Karl Williams on a UFC Fight Night card March 23. The New Zealand native is coming off a first-round knockout against Parker Porter in August. Justin, 30, is unbeaten in four straight.

Rogerio de Lima, a 38-year-old from Brazil, is coming off a knockout loss to Derrick Lewis in July.