Tuco Tokkos Tops Junior Tafa, Heads to Ivan Erslan in Las Vegas
tuco tokkos enters UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas off the first UFC win of his career, a finish that came after he routinely took Junior Tafa to the ground and submitted him late in the second round. The 35-year-old light heavyweight now gets Ivan Erslan after that breakthrough, with his first victory changing the mood around his run in the division.
Junior Tafa in Nashville
Tokkos said the win over Tafa last summer in Nashville felt like a release. “It was a great feeling,” he said, and the finish backed it up after he controlled the grappling and closed the fight before the final horn of round two.
That result came after a rougher stretch. He won his first two UFC fights before dropping bouts to Oumar Sy and Navajo Stirling, a sequence that made the Nashville finish his first real proof that he could turn UFC opportunities into a result on the board.
Imposter Syndrome and Procházka
Tokkos did not hide what the first win meant mentally. “It was a big relief because you always have a bit of imposter syndrome when you get to the UFC, so it’s like you can get rid of it after you get that first ‘dub,’” he said after beating Tafa.
He also described how hard rounds with elite fighters are speeding him up. “These are the best guys in the world and when you’re training with them, hanging with them, it does expedite the growth,” he said, adding, “It’s like, ‘Oh damn — some of my game is at this level.’”
Tokkos said he has trained with Jiří Procházka and Khamzat Chimaev, and he traveled to California to help Chimaev before UFC 328. He said the proving ground matters most when the work starts to show in live rounds: “If I’m having good rounds against them or excelling in a particular discipline, it’s like, ‘Oh man, I’m good here.’”
Las Vegas with Ivan Erslan
That is the backdrop for this weekend’s fight with Erslan in Las Vegas. Tokkos is not walking in as a prospect waiting for a first breakthrough anymore; he arrives with a win, a clear finish over Tafa, and a sharper read on where his game stands against top-level opposition.
He also carried a lighter note into the week, saying about his hair growth, “I messed up my career having a buzz,” and, “I should have grown the hair out years ago; it’s changed my life… Yesterday at check-ins, everyone on the staff was like, ‘You might be the best-looking dude on the roster,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, me and Paulo Costa need to have a chat.’ They don’t even let me in the PI because they’re like, ‘Is that you?’”
For Tokkos, the immediate task is simple: turn the first UFC win into a second straight one in Las Vegas and keep the momentum from Nashville alive against Erslan.
