He left the Octagon on Saturday in stunned disappointment after a 22-second knockout loss to Dan Ige at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It was the sixth-fastest KO in the history of the UFC’s featherweight division. Tucker, who was a short-notice replacement for Ryan Hall, relased a statement regarding the setback on his Instagram account.
“I don’t know much, but I know for sure we don’t get what we don’t go after. I went after it. But I lunged after it,..and in a straight line. Small mistakes, big consequences,” Tucker wrote.
“Saturday night I walked onto a well-timed right hand and experienced my first KO loss. I’m not gonna hide from it or downplay it. I’m heartbroken. But I can’t change what happened. I can only control how I move forward. Regretfully I didn’t get to show the work or represent the efforts and strides made from this great team. But I’ll create new opportunities and get back to business as soon as things are in order to do so.”
A former Extreme Cage Combat champion, the 34-year-old Tucker has lost just twice in 15 professional outings. His UFC record includes wins over Sam Sicilia, Seung Woo Choi, Justin Jaynes and Billy Quarantillo.
“My main goal for these next weeks of adjustment is to show strength in character, acceptance , and response,” Tucker wrote.
“The response will be appropriate. Time to walk in the dark for a while.”