With lackluster victory, 'New Adesanya' remains unbeaten and confirms favoritism at UFC Tampa

'New Adesanya', Navajo Stirling maintains invincibility and confirms favoritism in the UFC Tampa. Photo: Reproduction/Twitter/UFC News

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O UFC Tampa, held this Saturday (14), marked the closing of the organization's 2024 season, but the confrontation between Navajo Stirling and Tuco Tokkos, who opened the main card, was not a big highlight of the night. Although the New Zealander won the 'almost Brazilian' by unanimous decision, his performance inside the octagon left something to be desired, with moments of ups and downs throughout the fight.

Navajo Stirling has an undefeated record of six wins, highlighted by his triumph at the Contender Series, the event where he earned his spot in the UFC. The New Zealander trains under the guidance of Israel adesanya and has shown promise despite his difficulties in the fight against Tokkos.

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Tuco Tokkos, in turn, is 30 years old and has a record of 10 wins and 5 losses. The Brazilian fighter, son of a Brazilian mother and a British father, is still trying to establish himself in the organization.

Adesanya's friend Navajo Stirling wins UFC Tampa to maintain unbeaten streak

Stirling, considered one of the pupils of Israel adesanya, entered the fight with a strategy focused on fast pace, betting on low kicks and quick attacks to pressure Tokkos. In the first round, the New Zealander showed superiority, dominating the fight with accurate blows that forced his opponent to retreat.

Tuco, visibly uncomfortable, seemed to be trying to find the time to end the round, looking at his watch every few moments. Stirling's control was clear, and the Tampa crowd followed the sequence of blows, with the New Zealander's victory looking increasingly imminent.

In the second round, Tokkos tried to adjust his approach, focusing on takedowns to take the fight to the ground. However, Stirling proved competent in defending himself, escaping from the positions and remaining on his feet, where he continued to have a slight advantage. Despite Tokkos' attempts, who had some success on the ground, the son of a Brazilian was unable to turn the game around and regain Navajo's superiority.

The third and final round was marked by fatigue on the part of both fighters, who were no longer able to maintain the frenetic pace of the previous rounds. Stirling's performance was not as impressive as at the beginning of the fight, but he still managed to be more effective in the exchanges of blows. The crowd, impatient with the fatigue of both fighters, even booed the fight at times, and the fight ended with the judges declaring Stirling the winner by unanimous decision, sealing his sixth consecutive victory in his career.

Stirling is compared to Adesanya and has the former champion's approval

In addition to the positive result, Stirling continues to be compared to the former middleweight champion Israel adesanya, with whom he trains at City Kickboxing. Both have similar styles and Adesanya, in past statements, has even stated that his training partner is 'better' than him and that his potential will be proven within the organization.

“Everything he said he wanted to do, he did spectacularly. We are similar because we train in the same gym, and we are both tall. He really learned a lot from us, not just me,” Adesanya said.

In a deeper assessment, Adesanya even admitted that he believes Stirling is better than him and that, with time, the 26-year-old fighter will demonstrate his true potential.

“Navajo is his own beast, you’ll see his own style shine through. If you think he’s like me now, I think he’s better than me. He’s evolved into the next version, thanks to his fighting intelligence, which he uses very well, whereas I, in my time, maybe didn’t explore it as much as he did,” Adesanya added.

Check out all the results from UFC Tampa

MAIN CARD 

Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Joaquin buckley derrotou Colby covington by technical knockout (doctor stoppage) at 4min42s of R3

Featherweight (up to 65,7 kg): Cub swanson derrotou Billy quarantillo at 1min35s of R3

Flyweight (up to 56,7 kg): Manel kape derrotou Bruno Bulldoguinho by technical knockout at 1:57 of R3

Light heavyweight (up to 93 kg): dustin jacoby derrotou Victor Petrino by knockout at 3min44sec of R3

Bantam weight (up to 61,2 kg): Daniel Marcos derrotou Adrian Yanez  by split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)

Light heavyweight (up to 93 kg): Navajo Stirling derrotou George Tokkos by unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

PRELIMINARY CARD

Light weight (up to 70,3 kg): Michael Johnson derrotou Ottman azaitar by knockout at 2min3s of R2

Light weight (up to 70,3 kg): Joel alvarez derrotou Drakkar Klose by knockout at 2min48s of R1

Featherweight (up to 65,7 kg): Sean Woodson derrotou Fernando Padilla por technical knockout at 4min58s of R1

Featherweight (up to 65,7 kg): Felipe Lima derrotou Miles Johns by unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Flyweight (up to 56,7 kg): Miranda maverick derrotou Jamey-Lyn Horth by decision unanimous of the judges (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Bantam weight (up to 61,2 kg): davey grant derrotou Ramon Taveras by unanimous decision of the judges (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Straw weight (up to 52,1 kg): Piera Rodriguez derrotou Josephine Knutsson by unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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