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Kiwi Navajo Stirling impresses with lop-sided decision victory in UFC debut
Stephen Foote • December 15th, 2024 5:00 pm
Photo: UFC
New Zealand's newest UFC fighter has eased to a one-sided victory in his debut in Tampa on Sunday (NZ time).
The City Kickboxing product earned a unanimous decision win over Englishman Tuco Tokkos, the judges awarding him all three rounds in his first outing on the world's biggest MMA stage.
Fighting just his sixth professional MMA bout since making the transition from kickboxing, Stirling was the aggressor throughout the 15 minutes, dictating terms inside the Octagon.
The 27-year-old often seemed just a shot away from finishing the hard-nosed Brit but couldn't quite find the fatal blow he needed to finish the fight inside the distance.
Nevertheless, it was an encouraging start to Stirling's UFC career, with the added bonus of having his pre-fight wish to be tested in the grappling department granted - a test he passed admirably.
"I thought he would open himself up more earlier in the fight," Stirling said in his post-fight interview.
"I was too eager for the knockout. I just felt him cover up, survive and try to make it to the next round.
"He was just covering up. It was really hard to pierce his guard. He was pretty tight on defence."
The two-time King in the Ring champion earned his way into the UFC via Dana White's Contender Series, awarded a multi-fight contract with a spectacular second-round stoppage of his Phil Latu in September.
