Undefeated prospect gets late opponent change for UFC Vegas 118

[Mickey the Mouth]

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 21: Iwo Baraniewski of Poland reacts after a knockout victory against Austen Lane in a light heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at The O2 on March 21, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Iwo Baraniewski already has a new name eager to spoil his undefeated record.

The fast-rising light heavyweight prospect is now set to fight Junior Tafa (7-5) at UFC Vegas 118 on June 6 following the withdrawal of originally scheduled opponent Billy Elekana. See the official announcement below.

New opponent, same objective @IwoBaraniewski now faces Junior Tafa at #UFCVegas118! pic.twitter.com/rvj3U9n7Ef

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) May 22, 2026

No reason was provided for Elekana’s withdrawal.

Baraniewski (8-0) has emerged as one to watch at 205 pounds. The 27-year-old Polish prospect scored a 20-second knockout on Dana White’s Contender Series to earn a UFC contract, then scored fast knockouts of Ibo Aslan and Austen Lane, with the latter succumbing to Baraniewski’s strikes in just 28 seconds. All of Baraniewski’s wins have come via first-round finish.

As for Tafa, he replaces Elekana, the man who defeated him at UFC 325 this past February. Tafa made a successful return to action just three months later with a first-round knockout of Kevin Christian, and now competes for the third time in just four months as he aims to hand Baraniewski his first loss.

UFC Vegas 118 takes place at Meta Apex in Las Vegas on June 6 and is headlined by a welterweight bout between former 170-pound champion Belal Muhammad and Gabriel Bonfim.

See the updated lineup below (bout order still to be finalized).

Belal Muhammad vs. Gabriel Bonfim

Brendan Allen vs. Edmen Shahbazyan

Bryce Mitchell vs. Victor Henry

Iwo Baraniewski vs. Junior Tafa

Imanol Rodriguez vs. Matt Schnell

Marcus McGhee vs. John Yannis

Bruno Silva vs. Edgar Chairez

Jordan Leavitt vs. Joanderson Brito

Fares Ziam vs. Tom Nolan

Ketlen Souza vs. Ariane Carnelossi

Priscila Cachoeira vs. Chelsea Chandler

Jeisla Chaves vs. Yuneisy Duben

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