Gavin Tucker Record: 13-3-0

UFC run

Tucker opened his UFC tenure in February 2017 in Halifax, outpointing veteran Sam Sicilia over three rounds in front of a Nova Scotia crowd. He hit his first wall later that year, dropping a unanimous decision to the rugged Ricky Glenn at UFC 215. Tucker regrouped and found the best form of his career, leaning on his jiu-jitsu to submit Seung Woo Choi by third-round rear-naked choke at UFC 240 in 2019, then submitting Justin Jaynes by the same method in 2020. His signature result came that December at UFC 256, where he handed previously unbeaten-in-the-UFC Billy Quarantillo a three-round unanimous-decision loss. The back end of his run was unkind: a first-round knockout loss to Dan Ige in March 2021, then a first-round submission defeat to the surging Diego Lopes in August 2023 via triangle armbar.

Fighting style

Tucker was a grappler at heart with a finisher's instinct. Six of his 13 wins came by submission and four more by knockout, producing a 77% finish rate — a high mark that reflects how rarely he let fights drift to the judges when he was in control. His rear-naked choke was a recurring weapon, and his cardio and chain-grappling let him wear opponents down into the later rounds. The losses tell the rest of the story: against the division's top-tier punchers and submission artists, the same aggression that made him dangerous could leave him exposed, and both of his stoppage defeats came inside a single round.

Career highlights

• Won his UFC debut in Halifax — decisioned veteran Sam Sicilia on home soil in front of a Newfoundland-and-Nova-Scotia crowd in 2017.
• Upset of unbeaten-in-UFC Billy Quarantillo at UFC 256 — outpointed a 15-2 prospect over three rounds for the standout win of his Octagon run.
• 77% career finish rate — six submissions and four knockouts across 13 wins, anchored by a high-level Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt.