UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs Khabilov Prelim Breakout Star: Jon Tuck

The Prelim Breakout Star is a once per event article that helps fans get to know those who will be entertaining them from the undercard. The intention of the article is not to bring attention to the most talented guy on the preliminary card, but rather one that the common fan may have overlooked or underestimated.

This weekend marks a very monumental event for us here at Prelim Breakout Star. On April 24th, 2013, we reviewed a young man who had only one UFC fight under his belt. While he had won it in impressive fashion, many still had never heard of him. This weekend, he becomes the first Prelim Breakout Star to headline a UFC event. We tip our cap to you, Rustam Khabilov. Now, let’s take a look at someone who has the potential to join him one day.

Jon Tuck

Nickname – Super Saiyan
Affiliation – MMA Lab
From – Chalan Pago, Guam
Height – 5’10”
Weight – 155 lbs (Lightweight)
Record – 7-1 (1-1 UFC)

What makes him impressive

Although Tuck doesn’t have the best takedown defense, it’s okay because he doesn’t seem to need it. After being taken into side control by submission specialist Tiequan Zhang, he quickly composed himself and returned to guard. Most fighters would be happy to return there and perhaps try to set up a submission or get back to their feet. But Tuck quickly changed his angle and hit a textbook flower sweep. This quickly drew the admiration of grappling fans who know the sweep and know how hard it is to hit on an experienced grappler. But Tuck wasn’t done there. In the second round, he again went for the same sweep, and even though this time it failed, he used it to scramble and wind up in yet another mounted position.

Why he’s been overlooked

Having such a short career thus far, Tuck has had very little time to build up a fan base. Additionally, most of the hype he created with his flashy grappling, was lost a bit during his most recent fight, a loss to Norman Parke. However, if there is anything we learned from the other John Crouch products, it’s that they bounce back well from losses.

What makes this a good matchup

In his three most recent fights, Jake Lindsey has knocked all of his opponents out. He moves forward with bad intentions and throws bombs. This has worked well in these fights primarily because his opponents haven’t had a lot of movement. Mostly, they were willing to fight his fight and try to beat him at his game. Tuck is much more composed than that. He goes in with a well defined game plan and works hard to execute it. In addition, he also has very good head movement and makes opponents miss often. If Lindsey looks to land big, he’ll likely wind up paying for it.

Prelim Breakout Star History:

Record: 34 Wins, 16 Losses, 2 Did Not Fight (DNF)

1. Francisco Trinaldo – UFC on FX: Belfort vs Bisping (W)

2. Simeon Thoresen – UFC on Fox: Johnson vs Dodson (L)

3. Tyron Woodley – UFC 156 (W)

4. Vaughan Lee – UFC on Fuel: Barao vs McDonald (W)

5. Dennis Bermudez – UFC 157 (W)

6. Cristiano Marcello – UFC on Fuel: Stann vs Silva (L)

7. Daron Cruickshank – UFC 158 (L)

8. Ryan LaFlare – UFC on Fuel: Mousasi vs Latifi (W)

9. Bart Palaszewski – TUF Finale (L)

10. Yoel Romero – UFC on Fox: Henderson vs Melendez (W)

11. Rustam Khabilov – UFC 159 (W)

12. Fabio Maldonado – UFC on FX: Belfort vs Rockhold (W)

13. Khabib Nurmagomedov – UFC 160 (W)

14. Antonio Braga Neto – UFC on Fuel: Nogueira vs Werdum (W)

15. Roland Delorme – UFC 161 (W)

16. Seth Baczynski – UFC 162 (L)

17. Jorge Masvidal – UFC on Fox: Johnson vs Moraga (W)

18. Ednaldo Oliveira – UFC 163 (L)

19. Mike Brown – UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs Sonnen (L)

20. Dylan Andrews – UFC Fight Night: Condit vs Kampmann (W)

21. Soa Palelei – UFC 164 (W)

22. Elias Silverio – UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs Bader (W)

23. John Makdessi – UFC 165 (W)

24. Alan Patrick – UFC Fight Night: Maia vs Shields (W)

25. Andre Fili – UFC 166 (W)

26. Jimy Hettes – UFC Fight Night: Machida vs Munoz (W)

27. Germaine de Randamie – UFC Fight for the Troops 3 (L)

28. Omari Akhmedov – UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs Henderson (W)

29. Sergio Pettis – UFC 167 (W)

30. Roxanne Modafferi – TUF Finale (L)

31. Takeya Mizugaki – UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs Bigfoot (W)

32. Alptekin Ozkilic – UFC on Fox: Johnson vs Benavidez (W)

33. Siyar Bahadurzada – UFC 168 (L)

34. Mairbek Taisumov – UFC Fight Night: Saffiedine vs Lim (W)

35. Charlie Brenneman – UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs Philippou (L)

36. Walt Harris – UFC on Fox: Henderson vs Thompson (L)

37. Clint Hester – UFC 169 (W)

38. Joe Proctor – UFC Fight Night: Machida vs Mousasi (W)

39. Aljamain Sterling – UFC 170 (W)

40. Zak Cummings – TUF China Finale (DNF)

41. Cyrille Diabate – UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs Manuwa (L)

42. Mats Nilsson – UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs Manuwa (L)

43. Alex Garcia – UFC 171 (W)

44. Hans Stringer – UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs Henderson (W)

45. Jim Alers – UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs Nelson (W)

46. Ryan Jimmo – TUF Finale (W)

47. Caio Magalhaes – UFC on Fox: Werdum vs Browne (W)

48. Joe Ellenberger – UFC 172 (DNF)

49. Kyoji Horiguchi – UFC Fight Night: Brown vs Silva (W)

50. Francisco Trinaldo – UFC 173 (L)

51. Iuri Alcantara – UFC FIght Night: Mousasi vs Munoz (W)

52. Paulo Thiago – TUF Brazil Finale (L)