The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Halifax-trained fighter looks ahead
With latest win behind him, Halifax-trained fighter looks ahead to next challenge
Gavin Tucker is five fights into his Ultimate Fighting Championship career, but the 34-year-old says he has just now found his comfort level in the UFC.
Nevertheless, Tucker says he is more than willing to take on what might be an uncomfortable opponent in his next UFC bout.
Tucker, who hails from Ship Cove, N.L., but trains out of Titans Mixed Martial Arts in Halifax, was speaking after winning a unanimous decision over Billy Quarantillo in a three-round featherweight bout that was part of the undercard for UFC 256 in Las Vegas on Saturday.
The victory — 30-27 on the scorecard — was the fourth in five UFC fights for Tucker. Overall, he has a 13-1 professional record.
After he defeated Quarantillo, halting an eight-bout winning streak for the fighter from Ransomville, N.Y., Tucker was lauded by the UFC'S Twitter account.
“Remember the name!” began the post, before continuing to suggest Tucker had “made his case for being Canada's next rising prospect.”
Tucker agreed he has found a groove in the UFC.
“I'm getting some familiarity in there. I think I just got comfortable in the UFC octagon. I just found a step of comfort.” he stated in his post-fight press conference.
“I think that's a very dangerous thing.”
Tucker — who was the reigning featherweight champion of the Maritimes-based Extreme Cage Combat when he signed to the UFC in 2017 — won his debut fight via unanimous decision over Sam Sicilia at UFC Fight Night 105.
In his next bout against Rick Glenn seventh months later, Tucker suffered four broken bones in his face in his first professional loss. Since then, he has reeled off three consecutive victories, including a win over Justin Jaynes on Aug. 8, which earned him the Performance of the Night award.
Tucker is looking forward to taking that dangerous comfort to his next UFC matchup, which should come in late winter or early spring if he follows a self-imposed fight schedule.
“I'm good for every four months, I've said that before,” he said. “There's going to be a little bit of a rest period. I have to quarantine for two weeks and I (hope) can lock up some of these guys (his training staff) with me so
I can continue to train and continue to grow.”
When asked about who he sees as a next opponent, Tucker said that he was “down for whatever comes,” although he added, “the usual tendency is to get someone who has been in the UFC for a while, with some experience.”
Alex Caceres fits that description. A professional MMA fighter for a dozen years, the Floridian has a 15-10-1 record in the UFC, but has won three straight bouts and owns the profile of having appeared in the 12th installment of “The Ultimate Fighter,” the UFC'S own reality television series.
“A lot of people brought up Alex Caceres to the point where to the point where I started bringing him up in interviews,” said Tucker.
Tucker suggested a match with Caceres “would be a fun fight,” but the more he analyzed the possibility, the more it became clear it would also amount to a serious test,
“He's on a three-fight winning streak, he's a southpaw, he's tall, he moves a lot, so it would be a different look for me,” said Tucker “He's got a good right hook... and he's got a lot of experience and I'm just getting my footing on experience,”
But while he agreed, with a smile, that Caceres's fighting style would “be very challenging, which is something I don't particularly like,” Tucker noted a challenge is exactly what he's looking for.
“Absolutely. As an athlete, you definitely want to go every route you can and become as deep as you can be.
“You have to be ready for whatever comes.”