After frustration of scrapped Philippines card, Jon Tuck eyes exciting finish at UFC Fight Night 101

MELBOURNE, Australia – On the final stretch of his preparation to fight on Oct. 15, Guam’s Jon Tuck talked to MMAjunkie about how happy he was to be once again fighting near Manila.

The short three-hour flight from Guam meant Tuck would be able to count on massive support as he re-entered Mall of Asia Arena, where he’d also picked up his last UFC win. The lightweight was, in fact, on his way to the Philippines when he found out that, due to headliner B.J. Penn’s injury, the whole card had been scrapped.

The news was, understandably, a bit tough to swallow.

“Two hours into the flight, waking up from a nap, I decided to log on to my WiFi – which is something I don’t usually do during flights,” Tuck told MMAjunkie. “And I got a text from one of my good friends. She said she was sorry to hear about the news. I thought that something that happened to somebody, and I started to worry. She sent me a link. I clicked on it, and it said the card was cancelled.

“It was crazy. I was locked up on the plane. I was really frustrated, claustrophobic and tense, and right away thought about everyone from Guam who was going to Manila to see me fight. I felt sick, honestly. Before that, I was feeling great. It was such a letdown.

“It was very frustrating. But the good thing was that I could spend some extra time with my family. There were some good parts, but it was also frustrating.”

Tuck (9-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC), then set face UFC newcomer Alex Volkanovski, soon got rescheduled. Out went UFC Fight Night 97 and in came Melbourne’s UFC Fight Night 101, bringing also a fresh opponent: Australia’s own Damien Brown (16-9 MMA, 1-1 UFC).

In spite of leaving the relative comfort of a homelike scenario to fight a local product, Tuck is happy with Saturday’s pairing.

“I like the matchup,” Tuck said. “He’s a good scrapper, I’ve got the scrappy style as well. I always want to fight the best and legends, but I don’t pick and choose who I fight. He’s a tough opponent, but I’ve definitely put in the hard work to make it happen on fight night.”

The lightweight scrap is part of the FS1-televised preliminary portion of UFC Fight Night 101, at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

After some tough bouts with injuries, the 32-year-old fighter was also celebrating his good shape and health ahead of his seventh octagon appointment. A new date meant making sure his body – and, obviously, weight – stayed on point to peak at the right time.

“The UFC asked me to do my best keeping in shape and they said they were going to try to book me right away, but I wasn’t sure,” Tuck said. “One of the reasons I was so upset was because I was cutting weight.

“But after I got the news I was able to eat a bit more. I packed on a bit of weight. Maybe more than I should’ve, but that’s just the inner fat boy in me. Right away I was booked again and right away I switched up my diet. So far this has been the easiest weight cut I’ve ever had.”

In any case, it’s not like Tuck is a stranger to having things change up on him.  Volkanovski was already a replacement to original opponent Mehdi Baghdad and, before that, the UFC Fight Night 87 pairing with Nick Hein changed four days before it was set to take place.

Having to constantly readjust his preparation for new matchups, of course, is not ideal. But, at this point, he’s learned how to deal.

“It can be a little frustrating having opponents switch,” Tuck said. “Earlier in my career I liked to know who I’m fighting so I can keep my focus on him. But now, for me, I don’t get too bent out of shape about that anymore.

“I definitely make sure that, when it’s crunch time, I’m ready for whatever. At the end of the day, it’s about me and not my opponent.”

The lightweight has so far struggled to achieve consistency, alternating wins and losses all through his four-year octagon run. Now standing at a negative, after a May split decision loss to Josh Emmet, Tuck has good expectations ahead of Saturday’s scrap.

“I feel great, and definitely you can expect a new level,” Tuck said. “I feel like everything has been turning around in a new direction for this fight. The team that I’m with has worked really hard to make sure I’m in a good place and to get me to the level where I’m at.

“I’m not looking to go three rounds; this is going to be an exciting fight with an exciting finish, whether it’s knockout, TKO or submission.”

To hear more from Tuck on the matchup, check out the video above.

And for more on UFC Fight Night 101, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.