Tuco Tokkos is all prepared to face Kiwi fighter Navajo Stirling at the upcoming UFC Fight Night on December 14. Tokkos, who enters the Octagon as the underdog despite having a knockout rate of 60%, intends to make his mark in the UFC. However, Stirling’s perfect 5-0 record proves that he is one opponent that Tokkos should look out for.

This battle might be a watershed moment for Tokkos as he looks to establish himself in the UFC. So, the light heavyweight would be looking forward to using all his MMA experience in this one fight. But for how many years has he been doing MMA, and what was his early life like? Without further ado, let’s find out all about Tuco Tokkos, his nationality, ethnicity, and early life.

Where was Tuko Tokkos born?

Tuco Tokkos was born in Camden, London. He refers to himself as “a real Londoner,” proud of his heritage. Tokkos was raised in public housing. According to the MMA fighter, he was raised in a working-class environment, and that helped him remain humble all through his life while earning him the ‘never give’ up attitude. Tokkos revealed in a recent interview that while other fighters start training at a very young age, he actually ‘fell into’ the world of fighting without receiving any proper training in his early years.

His sense of purposelessness led him to pursue Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He said, “Just when I was young, like most people, it’s not unique. I was running around doing whatever. And then, yeah, I kind of just fell into fighting. I just wanted something to do in the daytime, and my mom’s Brazilian. I was like, I should do Brazilian jiu-jitsu.”

When did Tuko Tokkos start MMA?

As we mentioned earlier, Tokkos had a natural affinity for martial arts because of his mother’s Brazilian roots. As a result, he decided to try BJJ after being inspired by fighters like Shogun Rua, whom he even joked about resembling in the aforementioned interview. However, what started as a hobby soon became a serious passion for the UFC light heavyweight when he realized that he was good at the sport, winning tournaments and truly standing out among his peers.

His talent was quickly spotted by his coaches—Ashley Grimshaw, Jude Samuel, and John Durant—as they encouraged him to turn the sport into a profession. That is when they got him into MMA and made him fight other fighters to rack up an amateur record. He said in an interview with the ‘Gracie on Demand’ YouTube channel, “My coaches—Ashley Grimshaw, Jude Samuel, John Durant—were like, ‘All right, don’t be a p***y; do MMA.’ So I was like, ‘All right.’ I had a couple of fights, went four-five and 0, and then I got picked up by Bellator. That’s when I came to America and started training.”

This ‘easy’ undefeated streak brought him to the United States of America and the Blackzilians MMA gym. There he sparred with the likes of Luke Rockhold when he was good, Kamaru Usman, Volkan Oezdemir, Stefan Struve, and Jason Jackson before joining the Kill Cliff FC gym. This training made him a part of Bellator, a platform where he left a major mark to be quickly signed by the UFC, where he made his debut in a losing effort against Oumar Sy. However, now, he would be looking forward to turning things around in his fight against Navajo Stirling. What do you think? Will he be able to win the fight? Let us know in the comments.