As he approaches his fight this weekend, Marco Tulio was the victim of a dangerous robbery attempt. Alongside fellow fighter Norma Dumont, Tulio traveled to the airport as he set off for Miami, Florida, ahead of UFC 314—but things almost took a dark turn.
‘Matuto’ is a fresh face in the UFC’s 185-pound division, having earned a contract on the Contender Series in August. The 30-year-old debuted earlier this year, managing to secure a first-round knockout of Ihor Potieria.
Hoping to build upon his debut inside the octagon, Marco Tulio will compete against Tresean Gore on Saturday. However, while the fight remains on the card, it could have been much different.
As Tulio and UFC veteran Norma Dumont made their way to the airport, a man tried to attack them. Breaking the car window, the thief attempted to take Tulio’s phone, to no avail.
Dumont explained the situation in a post on social media following the wild event.
“We’re heading to Saturday’s fight in Miami with Matuto,” Dumont said. “It was chill… Hey, look. They tried to rob him, grab his phone, smashed the window.”
“But look, did they get it?”
Tulio weighed in on the situation.
“Nope, they didn’t get it, see. Their plan failed… Now, the urge to fight someone is even stronger…”
“Someone’s going to pay for this.”
Check out the video below.
Related: Fan tries to attack Conor McGregor, gets bloodied by security | Video
Another standout performance by Marco Tulio would put the middleweight division on notice.
If he walks away with the victory on April 12, the South American will extend his win streak to double digits.
After a rocky start to life in the UFC, Tulio’s opponent, Tresean Gore, has seemingly changed his fortunes.
Gore has earned back-to-back guillotine submission choke wins against Josh Fremd and Antonio Trocoli, proving that his jiu-jitsu game isn’t to be underestimated.
