‘I put my life on the line’ – PFL Europe star Dylan Tuke makes honest admission on life in MMA

The Irishman, who fights out of Scotland, improved his professional record to 7-4 on Friday night with a second-round submission victory over Yazid Chouchane.

Tuke was part of the PFL’s inaugural European tournament and made the semi-final courtesy of his unanimous decision win against Connor Hughes last July. 

The 27-year-old was unable to book his spot in the final of the $100k event after losing a decision to eventual winner, Jakub Kaszuba.

Nevertheless, Tuke is back in the winning bracket and intent on claiming the gold in 2024.

During the post-fight press conference, Tuke underlined the hardships of life in the sport. Speaking to the media, the Irishman said: “We’re underpaid by all organisations.

“When you see footballers getting paid £100k for walking onto the pitch, £70k. I put my life on the line. I train harder than any other athlete.”

He added: “I still feel that and the CTE thing is still there. It’s always going to be there. People text me, whinging, don’t say that. I’ll say whatever the f**k I want.

“Till the day I die I’ll say what I want. I had my dad saying don’t do this, don’t do that. You’ll get a slap if you do that. I didn’t do it but no more. I do what I want. If I want to speak on something, I’ll speak on it.

“I’m in this sport since I’m 12. I love this sport so much, I’d never want to turn anyone off it. But I want to put the reality out there that it’s not all f*****g sunshine. It’s not all perfect. The highs are amazing, but the lows are so f*****g low.

“I’m getting paid well because I’ve grafted. But I’m 15 years into this. I’m going to walk away with £12,000 tonight. Does that seem fair?

“I’m not saying I’m not paid well, but does that seem fair? Conor McGregor gave me a bump of £5,000, nice one Conor. That will pay for the broken nose. We respect that.

“I’m just going to say whatever I want, if anyone wants to shut me up, come do it.”