TAMPA, Fla. – His promotional debut might not have been the big splash he was looking for, but Navajo Stirling will find the silver lining.
Stirling (6-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) opened up the main card at UFC on ESPN 63 this past Saturday with a unanimous decision win over Tuco Tokkos (10-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. The City Kickboxing product from Australia no doubt would have preferred a highlight-reel finish, but also got some key experience.
“It was good to go 15 minutes for my development and cage time just to show people what I’ve got,” Stirling, who has trained with the likes of Israel Adesanya, Dan Hooker and Alexander Volkanovski. “I think we were just too eager to hunt for the finish, and I kind of felt like he was in there to survive. I didn’t feel like he was really trying to win. I think he was trying to hold on.
