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By Peter Carroll

Dylan ‘The Nuke’ Tuke is one of the most exciting fledgling professionals in Europe. With an unbeaten amateur record of 7-0, Tuke has clocked two wins in 
as many outings since turning pro last year.  

The young Dubliner is a product from John Kavanagh’s Straight Blast Gym. Since joining the club three years ago, he has been pushed to the forefront of a lot of conversations as "the next big thing" to emerge from the Irish scene. It’s hard to imagine Tuke training anywhere else, but he admits that he had cold feet when he initially stepped into the world-renowned facility. 

“I thought that everyone in SBG had a big ego,” Tuke said. “To be honest, I thought that everyone was gonna try and kill me as soon as I walked in. SBG has a bad reputation with people who don’t train there, but eventually I realized it was the opposite of what everyone said it would be. 

“I joined on Paddy’s Day (March 17) when I was 16, and it probably wasn’t until the middle of the summer that followed when I got on to the pro team that I felt comfortable. Everything clicked then. John started looking for matches for me and I got in with the guys like Ais and Paddy. I had already got close to Chris 
Fields and Owen Roddy. The guys took to me really quickly and that helped me a lot.” 

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The excitement around the youngster is tremendous. Former Cage Warriors middleweight champion Chris Fields recalls how he knew there was something 
special about Tuke after just a few training sessions in the gym. Similarly, Paddy Holohan pointed out we would be “talking about him for a very long time” after Tuke made his first steps on the amateur scene. 

Of course, Tuke is quite aware of his privileged surroundings.  

“I do feel privileged. Having that caliber of fighters taking an interest in you means a lot," Tuke said. "Especially with ‘Mama Bash’ (Aisling Daly)—she puts a lot of time into me. She treats me like I’m her son. 

“One thing that I can say about myself is, I get compliments off people who don’t give compliments very easily. Philip Mulpeter, Peter Queally and Artem Lobov, those are three of the toughest guys you’ll ever meet. They don’t bullshit anybody. They tell the truth and I always get compliments from those guys because I work hard. They see what I’m doing. I’m a ‘defender of the old guard,' as Chris Fields always says. I’m an old school kid who came up as the Irish MMA community really started to develop and now I’ve gone pro just in time to see that big baby grow into a massive monster.” 

And with training partners like Tuke’s, you can’t get too big for your boots. 

“I can’t get out of my box. I can’t be walking around the mats thinking I’m the business," Tuke said. "You can’t go around thinking that you’re the top dog when you’ve got other animals like them on the mats. I always say, 'If you shrunk me down to an 115-pound female and I kept my skill set, Ais would absolutely batter me.' Same with Mulpeter or Queally if I moved up to welterweight—they’d both kill me. They all look after me and they’ve nurtured me for a long time now. I really appreciate them for that.” 

Tuke has an ability to captivate like his stable mate Conor McGregor. From the very minute he appears in a venue, you can’t take your eyes off him. He storms to the cage as his corner workers scurry behind him in an effort to keep up. Singing, dancing and smiling, it’s hard to believe that the Irish charge has always had the same approach to contests. 

“I danced out to my first amateur fight as well," Tuke said. "My song was ‘Run this Town.' I had a Dethrone Aldo cap on my head, too,” he laughs. “I was a big Aldo fan back in the day. Obviously, now I’m a big McGregor fan. I guess I’ve just gotten more comfortable with each outing. By the time I had my third amateur fight, I didn’t even get nervous anymore and I didn’t hesitate at all in the fight. Since then, I’ve basically felt like this is what I’ve been put on earth to do. It’s hard not to smile when you feel that way.” 

When you see Tuke in action, it’s hard to deny fighting is his primary purpose. When he met Adam Caffrey in his pro debut, Tuke caught him on the end of his long frame before taking him down and applying a rear naked choke that ended the bout in one round. In his second pro fight after moving up to featherweight, Tuke pressurized Mark Andrew against the fence before delivering a pinpoint knee to his stomach. Wincing in agony, Andrew did his best to stay in the fray before Tuke sent out a final frenzied flurry to claim another first-round stoppage. 

For ‘The Nuke,' his style is an amalgamation of many fighters: 

“I watched a lot of Dominick Cruz when I was younger and I think that helped me to develop that weird footwork," Tuke said. "Then, with all of the great fighters we have at SBG, you can’t help but take a bit from everyone else’s style. I’ve taken a lot from Owen Roddy’s style, I’ve taken a lot from Chris Fields’ style, I’ve taken bits from Ais’s style and I’ve taken bits from Conor’s style. By the time I get into the cage, I’m like a monstrous combination of all of those things. 

“I always want to be entertaining. I want to show off when I’m in there, to be honest. I want people to leave the venue talking about what a great martial artist 
I am. I’m just 19 years of age, and already people are dodging me for fights. That in itself says enough about how good I am.” 

Tuke doesn’t mind telling anyone he has his eyes on the world’s biggest stages. Although people are already calling for the 19-year-old to make a debut 
in the Octagon, Tuke is focused on adding more wins to his stellar record. Both of his two professional outings have come under the BAMMA banner, a promotion that has a well-traveled path to the UFC.  

“With all that I have in place when that cage door closes, I feel absolutely unbeatable," Tuke said. "Unstoppable. I never feel like I’m in any sort of danger in there. I have never been in any danger in my 11 fights. I talk the talk, but I walk the walk. All of these featherweights in BAMMA know that I’m ready for UFC.

"People want to see me in that Octagon already, but I’m in no rush. I’ve had two fights, and people want to fast-track me. I’ve got to remain level-headed, but I know that call is going to come. When you’ve been working toward something for eight years and you can see it right in front of you, it’s hard to not reach out and grab it.” 


@PetesyCarroll