Gavin Scott Tucker[1] (born June 17, 1986) is a Canadian professional mixed martial artist.
[5][6][7] Tucker was born in St. Anthony, NL, and raised in Ship Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador, on June 17, 1986.
He started practicing traditional martial arts like taekwondo and judo in his teens, before leaving for Nova Scotia to study.
[8] He graduated from St. Francis Xavier University after studying jazz, music industry and performance.
[8][3] After stationing permanently in Halifax, he got interested in martial arts and found a gym to train at.
Tucker was the reigning Extreme Cage Combat Featherweight Champion when he was signed to the UFC in early 2017.
[9] Tucker made his promotional debut on February 19, 2017 against Sam Sicilia at UFC Fight Night 105.
[13] The referee was criticized by many observers, who felt that the fight should have been stopped earlier, as Tucker was clearly exhausted and had absorbed 142 significant strikes.
[14] Despite Tucker suffering 4 broken bones in his face as a result of the fight, he defended the referee's, Kyle Cardinal,[15] decision on his Facebook.
[16]Tucker was expected to face Andre Soukhamthath in a bantamweight bout on October 27, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 138.
[17] However, Tucker pulled out of the fight in early October, citing an undisclosed injury, and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Jonathan Martinez.
[21] However, on April 9, Dana White, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed to a future date.
[28] However, Tucker was tabbed as a short notice replacement to face Dan Ige on March 13, 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad instead.