As the sport of mixed martial arts takes off all over the world, more and more young and talented athletes are getting into it. And one of them is Justin “Tank” Scoggins.
Just 21 years of age, Scoggins is already 8-0 in his MMA career, including a 1-0 mark in the UFC. The Greenville, S.C., product made his official Octagon debut this past December at UFC Fight Night 33, defeating TUF Smashes product Richie Vaculik via first-round TKO in a very impressive outing. And this weekend at UFC 171, he’ll get a chance to impress again and make it 2-0 inside the eight-sided steel cage when he takes on Will Campuzano in an important flyweight bout.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Watch UFC 171 preliminary fights on Sportsnet 360 Saturday starting at 8 p.m. EST
Barely over the legal drinking age in the U.S., Scoggins is amongst the youngest athletes currently on the UFC roster, but you wouldn’t know it by watching him compete because he fights way beyond his years. Although known for his incredible striking — he has a background in karate and in kickboxing — against Vaculik, Scoggins showed that he has added a new wrinkle to his game as he used his improving wrestling to take his opponent to the mat and pound him out. It was an impressive showing by “Tank,” and it proved he’s not just a striker like some think he is, but rather a complete mixed martial artist with a diverse skill set.
That Scoggins moved to Florida to train at the prestigious American Top Team shows me that this isn’t someone who is doing MMA just because it’s cool – he’s doing it because he is committed to the sport, and because he wants to be the best in the world. And as someone who has been practising martial arts since he was just three years old, it’s was a great move for him to go to American Top Team to take his game to a new level because he’s clearly a special talent and needs to be surrounded by like-minded people.
And it’s not just me who’s been impressed with “Tank.” UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby obviously thought so too as they’ve booked him in this matchup against the veteran Campuzano. A matchup that, if Scoggins wins, will arguably push him into the top 10 despite being just 21.
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Sure, he’s a young guy and if he loses to Campuzano it’s not the end of the world. But I’m willing to bet a competitor like Scoggins doesn’t want to lose that goose egg next to his record. This is a guy who has the competitive spirit of a future world champion, and I expect him to have the best showing of his career this weekend at UFC 171 against one of the toughest fighters in the flyweight division in Campuzano.
A few weeks ago at UFC 170, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson showed that karate can work in MMA as he was able to knock out Robert Whittaker in the first round of their welterweight bout. And of all the fighters on the UFC roster, it’s Thompson who best resembles Scoggins in my opinion — at least as far as standup is concerned. Not only do they kind of look like each other and talk like each other, but they are both happy-go-lucky type of people, both are from South Carolina and both have karate backgrounds. And I’m sure Scoggins wouldn’t mind that comparison at all, considering Thompson is looking like a future world champion in the welterweight division.
The flyweight division is already one of the most exciting divisions in all of the UFC, and with the emergence of Scoggins as a contender, expect it to get even more exciting. Keep your eyes peeled for “Tank” this weekend, because he very well could be holding the belt in just a few shorts years.
