Ce Liu flattens late replacement at UFC Shanghai, immediately calls out original opponent Tafa

Ce Liu announced himself in the UFC with a first-round knockout of Levi Rodrigues at UFC Shanghai on 29 August, then wasted no time calling out the man he was originally supposed to fight — Junior Tafa, who withdrew from the bout five days before fight night for undisclosed reasons.

With Tafa out, Rodrigues stepped in on short notice and the two light heavyweights produced a competitive, back-and-forth opening round. Liu gradually seized control in the final minute, piling on the pressure before finishing his Brazilian opponent and moving his professional record to 4-1.

“I want to challenge someone — my last opponent,” Liu said backstage after the victory. “I want to settle the score with him in our next match.”

The callout carries a clear edge of unfinished business. Liu had been set to make his UFC debut in front of a home crowd in Shanghai against Tafa, and the late withdrawal denied him that matchup. Now, having delivered on the night regardless, he wants the fight the promotional calendar originally promised him.

Known as “The Oriental Dragon,” Liu has finished all four of his professional wins, going past the first round only once in victory — a finishing rate that underlines why the Rodrigues stoppage came as little surprise to those familiar with his record.

Tafa, for his part, arrives at a potential rematch booking in difficult form. The Australian heavyweight — now competing at light heavyweight — sits at 3-6 inside the UFC and is coming off a first-round knockout loss of his own, against Iwo Baraniewski. Whether the promotion moves to rebook the original pairing remains to be seen, but Liu has made his preference clear.