Despite 4 broken facial bones, Gavin Tucker says ref deserves no blame at UFC 215

Many fight fans, UFC President Dana White and even his own opponent thought the fight should’ve been stopped, but the man who suffered the beating, Gavin Tucker, is thankful it wasn’t.

During Saturday’s UFC 215 preliminary card, featherweight Rick Glenn (20-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) mauled Tucker (10-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) for three rounds before claiming a unanimous-decision victory.

After the bout, which aired on FS1 from Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Glenn said the fight “definitely” should have been stopped.

“Midway through the fight, definitely in the third round, I looked up to the ref and asked him, ‘Hey, you know, stop the fight?'” Glenn said. “But (Tucker) would move just enough. But he was taking some unnecessary damage, I thought. It’s too bad. We’re in the hurting business, but I don’t want to see anyone getting hurt unnecessarily. It definitely should have been stopped.”

Tucker, who entered the fight as nearly a 4-1 favorite, disagrees, though.

In a Facebook post, he wrote that he suffered four broken bones in his face. However, he said fans should “stop blaming the ref for a bad call” and “that man let me go out on my shield.” In fact, the ref, Kyle Cardinal, even visited him in the hospital afterward, he wrote.

Here’s the full post (via Facebook):

“In victory say little. In defeat ….less.
ill keep it short and sweet. i lost on Saturday. stop blaming the ref for a bad call. that man let me go out on my shield. he visited while i was in the hospital and apologized. was him and i in that cage. I didnt stop fighting. he saw that. he should sleep easy.
I have four broken bones in my face. the first which started on the jaw in rd 1 and the fight went down for me from there. i have 2 fractured orbital and another vertical fracture in the jaw according to the x ray/CT scan. the heartbreak of losing hurts much worse. throughout the day i wiped alot of blood off my cheek and i can’t say for sure there weren’t some tears in there. I fought w blurred vision and 3 different Rick Glenns kicked the fuck out of me for the last two rds. (i tried to hit the one in the middle) congrats to my opponent. i hope you go far because i plan on seeing you again.
I fought my heart out. I’m a rare breed of straight savage and i don’t need social media to tell me that. however…i am appreciative of all the support i received on here. which is why I’m writing this. I have no excuses and won’t stand for anyone making them for me. that’s not how the north folk get it done.
I have a great Family. a great team. and the greatest women. ill be twice the man for this.
thats it….. Tucker 2.0 is on the way”

Tucker debuted with the UFC in February and picked up a decision victory over Sam Sicilia in his promotional debut. It gave the 31-year-old Canadian fighter and former Extreme Combat Championship 145-pound champion a perfect 10-0 start to his pro career.

For more on UFC 215, check out the UFC Events section of the site.