Undefeated newcomer Navajo Stirling kept his ‘O’ intact, scoring a dominant decision victory over Tuco Tokkos in the UFC…
Undefeated newcomer Navajo Stirling kept his ‘O’ intact, scoring a dominant decision victory over Tuco Tokkos in the UFC Tampa main card opener.
Things started relatively slow between the two as Tokkos skirted around the outer part of the Octagon and Stirling looked to pressure early. With roughly 90 seconds to go in the opening round, Stirling appeared to catch Tokkos with a body shot during an awkward exchange. That encouraged Stirling to deliver a barrage of strikes against the fence, but Tokkos survived the onslaught and made it to the second round.
No longer interested in standing and trading with Stirling, Tokkos tried to get his wrestling game going right away in the second stanza. 90 seconds into the round, Tokkos managed to muscle Stirling down, but it wasn’t long before the New Zealander fought his way back up and started to unload on Tokkos.
To Tokkos’ credit, he took everything Stirling gave him, including an especially nasty uppercut against the fence, and managed to drag Stirling back down to the mat for the second time.
With both fighters starting to run on empty, much of the third round was spent clinching against the fence. With a minute to go, Stirling caught Tokkos with a couple of body shots that had him reeling.
Stirling turned up the heat and was looking to get a finish in the waning moments of the round, but Tokkos opted to shoot for a desperation takedown. That was enough to run out the clock and send the fight to the scorecards.
Official Result: Navajo Stirling def. Tuco Tokkos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Check out highlights from Navajo Stirling vs. Tuco Tokkos at UFC Tampa:
UFC athlete Tuco Tokkos has been training at KillCliff FC in Florida USA for his upcoming match against the…
UFC athlete Tuco Tokkos has been training at KillCliff FC in Florida USA for his upcoming match against the highly touted Kiwi fighter Navajo Stirling. Tokkos is a heavy underdog coming into this match and discusses the stakes in an exclusive interview.
Tuco Tokkos
With a 60% knockout win rate, Tuco Tokkos is a heavy-handed striker who continues to improve in the octagon. With experience all around the globe, soon he will be fighting to prove himself in the UFC as he faces New Zealand’s Navajo Stirling on December 14. With a perfect 5-0 record and being a training partner of Israel Adesanya, Navajo Stirling is the major betting favorite coming in.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Danny Podolsky of LowKickMMA, Tuco Tokkos said:
“They’re glazing him. I mean, I think they’re looking at my last fight, which I took on three days’ notice, you know? But as well, that’s good. All the pressure’s on him, being a huge favorite. I don’t know why he’s a huge favorite. He’s got one legitimate knockout in his career. He’s a little younger than me.
“I know he trains with some great guys out there, but I think that level in America is just different. Like, we have NCAA wrestlers here. We have Olympic wrestlers coming into our gym, you know what I mean? We’ve got guys on the world teams. Guys from all over the world. I don’t know. He’s just training with, like, a smaller pool.”
Navajo Stirling recently spoke about the palpable nervousness among fellow aspiring fighters at Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS). Stirling punched his ticket to the UFC with a brutal second-round, one-punch knockout of Phillip Latu during the main event of Week 5 of DWCS. In a surprising turn of events, the 26-year-old Kiwi has already secured […]
Stirling, a highly skilled kickboxer, hones his craft at the prestigious City Kickboxing gym in Auckland, training alongside former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and seasoned lightweight Dan Hooker. He transitioned to MMA in September 2022, making his professional debut against James Craughwell under the banner of the Shuriken Fight Series promotion.
Although the MMA community has yet to witness much of Stirling’s talents, the City Kickboxing prodigy turned heads with his recent performance, proving he possesses all the makings of a future star in the sport.
Stirling Asserts Mental Edge Over Other Fighters At DWCS
During a recent interview with Sky Sports NZ, Stirling reflected on his experience competing on the grand stage of DWCS. The UFC newcomer noted that many of the other contenders seemed overly anxious about their performances. He confidently expressed his belief that he could outshine the rest with his composure and skill.
“It was just like, so many were looking around and seeing how nervous all the other fighters were,” Stirling said. “Just seeing them go through their rituals and mantras, it was like I could just see— I don’t know if it’s weakness or something— but I just know if I was fighting guys like this, I would run through them 100 times over. And I think the UFC staff could see in my presence that I was meant to be there and that I was really going to own the moment.”
Stirling went on to say that the earlier matchups on the card lacked excitement, which motivated him to give his best performance. He added that the pressure of representing his country fueled his determination even more.
“It was a very lackluster card, and I feel like I did that. It was even so bad that there was one guy who didn’t even show up. When I saw a guy who had the opportunity of a lifetime not put his foot forward by even entering the Octagon, it made me think to myself: if I had the weight of my nation on my shoulders, I would go out 100 times over, even knowing I was going to get knocked out within 10 seconds. I would rather do that than not show face at all.”
Stirling boasts an undefeated professional record of 5-0, displaying impressive strength along the way. However, the path ahead in the UFC’s highly competitive light heavyweight division will be far from smooth. Before he can think about climbing the ranks, the rising star must first overcome fellow newcomer Tokkos, a dangerous opponent known for his devastating knockout power and slick grappling skills.
UFC athlete Tuco Tokkos has been training at KillCliff FC in Florida USA for his upcoming match against the…