Tuco Tokkos knew exactly what was at stake in his last UFC fight.
After years of blood, sweat and tears, the UFC light heavyweight from Kill Cliff FC has finally reached the circle of the UFC winner.
Tokkos started his UFC run at 0-2 and dropped back-to-back fights against unbeaten prospects Oumar Sy and Navajo Stirling.
Tokkos, 35, recovered a few weeks ago on the main map of UFC Nashville when he submitted Junior Tafa with an arm-triangle choke in the second round to note his first UFC victory.
Tokkos after the fight Tokkos caught up with a bloody elbow, with details about the pressure he stood under.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Tuco Tokkos: 'UFC do not keep in the neighborhood on a three-field losing series'
Tokkos said that a third consecutive defeat would probably have terminated his UFC career.
Despite the results in his last two fights, the Londoner remained faith in his skills, aimed at the opponent for him instead of the implications of a loss.
“It's just one fight,” Tokkos said about the advice he received from his teammates at Kill Cliff FC.
“Forget the pressure, forget the stress, focus on the task that must be done …”
“Certainly, man,” said Tokkos, when he was asked if busy added in this last fight.
“I mean, if we are real, I knew I was fighting for my work.
“The UFC does not keep you close to a three-field losing series unless you are as a huge name … unless you are as a McGregor or one of these guys.
“That is the funny thing about MMA. If you are really in it like us, you know the context that my first loss in the streak was a short term against the unbeaten prospect. Then I had a camp and I again had a close fight against the unbeaten prospect.
“So on paper it looks bad. Damn, I lost two fights in a row. But I was not like that, like, hurt because I knew the context …
“I still had sure I was going in this fight. I just looked forward. I knew I had to win and just got it done.
“It felt good,” Tokkos said about securing his first UFC victory.
Tuco Tokkos is asked if he felt like a UFC hunter who came out two losses
For some UFC newcomers they don't feel that they are a UFC hunter until they win their first victory.
That does not mean that that is how Tokkos felt, but the light heavyweight can certainly keep his head high after his entry on the second round.
“It certainly changed things,” Tokkos said when he felt a UFC hunter losing back-to-back.
“If you are on the street and are people like, oh, are you fighting? And you are like yes. They are like, oh, when was your last fight? And you're so much, oh, I have lost …
“If you win, you can be like, yes, I just fought two weeks ago. I won. I finished the man …
“You can be proud of your work, just like everyone else,” Tokkos explained.
“If you work in construction and say someone, what did you work on? You don't want to show a house that has fallen. You want to show a nice house that you have completed the track.
“So yes, it definitely feels better because I have completed the job. I can be proud of my work, although I feel that I am not really fighting well. I was not fighting well, but I still implemented the game plan and I did what I wanted to do, what the man brings down, topics and finishing …”