Gavin Tucker was on the wrong end of a one-sided beating on Saturday at UFC 215. After storming into the UFC with a fantastic debut against Sam Sicilia earlier this year, Tucker was given a big bump in competition this past weekend. That came in the form of Rick Glenn, a former World Series of Fighting featherweight champion. Unfortunately for Tucker, it was a case of too much, too soon. The more experienced Glenn tagged Tucker right out of the gate, and while the Canadian escaped and survived that early onslaught, he seemed to tire early, punching himself out after a flurry in the opening moments of the second round.
It was the third round of the fight, however, that was hard to watch. Tucker was floored, exhausted, and at times barely defending himself. Utilizing leg lock attempts that opened himself up to further damage, there were multiple moments the fight could have been waved off. Ref Kyle Cardinal, however, let the bout continue to the bitter end, where Tucker lost a lopsided decision. He was transported to hospital after, where he was found to have four broken bones in his face.
Monday, the fighter released a statement on his official Facebook page. In it, he made no excuses for the loss, but asked fans to stop blaming the ref. “Stop blaming the ref for a bad call. That man let me go out on my shield. He visited while I was in the hospital and apologized. Was him and I in that cage. I didn’t stop fighting. He saw that. He should sleep easy” Tucker said in the statement.
Tucker went on to say that “I have 2 fractured orbital and another vertical fracture in the jaw according to the x ray/CT scan.” However, “the heartbreak of losing hurts much worse.”
You can read the full statement below.
