Undefeated KSW veteran Oumar Sy and two-time Bellator MMA alum Tuco Tokkos arrive in the UFC on Saturday, facing one another at UFC Vegas 92 in their promotional debuts. The card is headlined by Edson Barboza and Lerone Murphy at featherweight; Sy vs. Tokkos arrives on the preliminary card at the UFC APEX.
Tuco Tokkos
Standing at six-foot-four
Fighting at 205 lbs (light-heavyweight)
33-years-old
Fighting out of England/Deerfield Beach, Florida, US
Training out of Kill Cliff FC
A pro record of 10-3
6 KO/TKOs, 2 Submissions
How Tokkos Will Fare in the UFC:
Tokkos has done a lot on paper on the regional scene. He fought on Dana White’s Lookin’ For a Fight, had a fight on Road to UFC, and is a former Fury FC light heavyweight champion. He even had two fights in Bellator. He’s beaten decent regional names like Clayton York, Ty Flores, and Myron Dennis. Those names are decent outside the UFC but aren’t close to UFC level. It should also be mentioned that Tokkos lost both Bellator fights and got knocked out brutally on Road to UFC. Since the RTU fight Tokkos has won three in a row. Those three opponents have a 25-27 combined record. All three guys are a combined 105-years-old.
Tokkos is a Daniel Gracie black belt. His wrestling in decent but it doesn’t match where his grappling is. He is a strong grappler and despite just having two submissions he is a submission threat. His wrestling isn’t consistent enough. If he doesn’t get the first takedowns he tends to give up on the wrestling.
On the feet, I have a lot of problems with Tokkos. He has a jab and that’s about all. He throws a lot of looping punches lacking anything down the middle. When he’s getting pressed backwards he drops his hands. He lacks power and is slow with plodding footwork. You can see everything he’s about to throw and it doesn’t help that he lacks combinations.
Tokkos is a fine short-notice replacement when it comes to just keeping the fight together. He will never be top 15 as he’ll struggle to even get a win in the UFC. He could get better with minor adjustments but about to be 34 he’s likely reached his peak.
Oumar Sy
Standing at six-foot-five
Fighting at 155 lbs (lightweight)
28-years-old
Fighting out of Paris, France
Training out of Bulgarian Fight Team
A pro record of 9-0
4 KO/TKOs, 3 Submissions
How Sy Will Fare in the UFC:
The UFC missed out on a few French prospects lately but they was able to get a good one in Oumar Sy. Sy, in the last two years, has fought good competition. He handled Paulin Begai and in his last two fights he finished Luis Henrique da Silva and Ildemar Alcantara, who are two former UFC fighters. Sy fought once for Ares and Oltagin and three times for KSW so he’s had a good level of experience.
Sy has improved a lot from let’s say his fight with Skrov in 2020 to now. There are a few concerns however. If he can’t get the takedown how will he look? In the past, at least his takedown defense looked questionable. From what I’ve seen he doesn’t like when he’s pressed back. He doesn’t deal well off his back food. We haven’t seen it a lot lately because he starts aggressively going after the takedown. At times Sy can shoot from too far out or just show his entries. He’s tightened it up as he does a great job of striking his way in and finding the takedowns. I don’t rate his wrestling as high as his grappling but it’s good enough.
Once Sy gets on top his top control is strong. He’s also able to methodically move into mount and do solid work. Sy never rushes anything and that’s a credit to his positional grappling. He is well-rounded with his ground game. Sy has the control, jiu-jitsu, ground and pound, and submission base to be a real threat on the mat.
There is nothing flashy with the style Sy possesses but he doesn’t need much more than what he has. Sy is only 28 so there is a good chance he’s not even at his peak. With his ground game alone I believe Sy will break into the top 15 at some point.
Prediction: This is a showcase fight for Sy. It will be interesting to see how Tokkos will look off his back because that’s where he will be. Sy has the better jiu-jitsu and wrestling. Tokkos has shown more in the striking department but it’s tough to see him out-striking anyone competent.
