‘I was seen as just a punching bag’: Marco Tulio returns to DWCS for a second chance to impress

Marco Tulio wants to secure a finish against Matthieu Duclos at Tuesday’s Contender Series event to ensure he’s leaving the UFC APEX with a deal this time around.

The Chute Boxe middleweight, who turns 30 years old on Friday, first competed on Contender Series in August 2023 against Yousri Belgaroui, a man with past kickboxing bouts against the likes of Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya. Tulio ultimately won in an upset, however his decision victory wasn’t enough to convince White to offer a UFC contract.

“I knew I had won the fight there,” Tulio told MMA Fighting. “And the contract, given who I had fought, I expected to be offered as well. I fought someone that everybody thought should be in the UFC already. If the decision went the other way, I knew he would be in.

“‘Poatan’ was there, Glover Teixeira was there [to corner him], so there was a lot of buzz around him. The UFC and Dana White were posting about him. For many people, I was just seen a punching bag there, someone put there to lose [to Belgaroui]. I went there to show who I was, to show my talent and potential, and I left with my hands raised.”

Still, Tulio’s performance boosted his win streak to six straight. He then returned to LFA in January and knocked out Cemey dos Santos to earn another Contender Series shot.

“I was super relaxed for that [Belgaroui] fight,” Tulio said. “I was like, ‘I’ll go for it. He’s good, but I train really hard too.’ I knew he had never fought anyone like me. I went for it, respecting his history, but with a good strategy, and was able to find some holes in his game.”

Tulio said he had “the worst pre-fight month in my life” when he faced Belgaroui, but now returns better prepared to fight Duclos at Tuesday’s card in Las Vegas.

“He’s tough, but it’s whole different story,” Tulio said. “He’s a popular YouTuber, you know? It’s a different audience but he’s very famous, and he’s good. I’m expecting a difficult fight. I’m not overlooking him only because I fought a decorated kickboxer like Yousri before. But I’m going for the knockout now. A knockout or a submission.”