Tuff-N-Uff, a regional promotion based out of the fight capital of the world, Las Vegas, Nevada, makes its return on Friday night with a full card full of compelling professional and amateur matchups.
The show will be headlined by a three-round welterweight bout between Cuban riser Ernesto Rodriguez and Brazil’s Edson Marques.
Tuff-N-Uff 135 will air on UFC Fight Pass beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
Main Event — Rodriguez vs. Marques
Xtreme Couture’s Rodriguez has been on a roll as of late, competing for a handful of reputable regional promotions that can help get him on the radar of a UFC or PFL. “Starboy” is currently riding a five-fight winning streak with his most recent win coming at Uriah Faber’s A1 Combat 12. He defeated Troy Green by way of decision, and has shown time and time again he is a capable point fighter in MMA. When he is finishing fights, he is usually doing so on the ground, using his jiu-jitsu to ground and submit opponents such as James Cannon, who he beat by way of arm triangle at Tuff-N-Uff 131.
The moment you've been waiting for! The final fight card for #TNU135 is locked and loaded. Check out the explosive matchups set to rock the cage! 💥👊 #FinalFightCard pic.twitter.com/AjTQFjumb3
— Tuff-N-Uff MMA (@tuffnuff) February 2, 2024
His opponent, Marques, is the more experienced professional at 11-2, but has had the benefit of spending most of his career on the hit-or-miss Brazilian regional scene. At 9-0, Marques signed with ONE Championship, stumbling out of the gate with a pair of losses before putting back-to-back wins together. While he is no longer in ONE, Marques will look to continue his reinvention in America, and a win over Rodriguez will give him three wins in his last three. Stylistically, Marques has shown himself to be kill-or-be-killed on the feet, but the onus will be on Rodriguez to make his opponent pay in striking exchanges to get ahead on the scorecards.
Rest of the Card
The main card will be rounded out by interesting regional fights, with Timothy Cuamba and Michael Stack set to face off in the co-main event. Cuamba and Stack are both impressive American featherweight prospects with plenty of parallels and differences. Cuamba is coming off a victory on Dana White’s Contender Series when he picked up a unanimous decision victory over Mateo Vogel. However, he did not receive a UFC contract, and will take another regional fight as he looks to gain experience.
Stack, meanwhile, has spent most of his career in LFA, but is coming off a loss in LFA to Jose Delano. Delano, however, is one of the top names in the LFA featherweight division, so the loss has certainly aged well.
The preliminary card will feature a pair of amateur title bouts in both the welterweight division and bantamweight division. Miguel Suazo will meet Brayden Pabst for the former title, while Tracy Love is set to fight Israel Smith for the latter championship.
For up-to-the-minute results and updates, be sure to stay locked into MMA Sucka!
Tuff-N-Uff 135 Results
Main Card
Ernesto Rodriguez vs. Edson Marques via TKO (hooks and punches) at 1:43 of Round 2
Timothy Cuamba def. Michael Stack via TKO (head kick and punches) at 1:02 of Round 2
Eric McConico def. Tyler Ray via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Jose Delgado def. Desmond Manabat via Submission (D’Arce choke) at 1:38 of Round 1
Daniel Trejo def. O’Shay Jordan via TKO (ground and pound) at 2:54 of Round 1
Rudy Garcia def. Ethan Goodwin via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Preliminary Card
Miguel Suazo vs. Brayden Pabst — for the TUFF Welterweight Championship
Tracy Love Jr. vs. Israel Smith — for the TUFF Bantamweight Chamionship
Whitley Brow vs. Hannah Ross
Geovanny Salazar vs. Eric Beck
Artis Lyles vs. Chris Min
Patrick Fleming vs. Chris Kingery
Ali Albazi vs. Aaron Casey
Erick Aceves vs. Pablo Gomez
Donovan Baker vs. Brandon Martinez
Tyler Gibbons vs. Geraldo Fierro Echeverria
