Athletes
The Only Path For Chris Gutierrez Is Forward
UFC Bantamweight Chris Gutierrez Believes His Hard Work Will Pay Off At UFC Fight Night: Yusuff vs Barboza.
Labor Day 2023 was just that for Chris Gutierrez, a day of labor, as he made it to the Factory X gym to go through his paces and get ready for his next fight.
“The practice don’t stop,” he said. “It's the same for us - rain, snow, holiday, no holiday, it don't matter.”
Some people can’t take that grind, and many that do keep showing up with the hopes that sometime in the future, they’ll get that day off or vacation. Gutierrez, who faces Alatengheili on Saturday in Las Vegas, falls in neither category.
“I'm not on that path yet, so I'm still chopping away, and I'm used to it,” he said. “I know it has to be done.”
At least now, more than a decade into a pro MMA career that began in 2013, Gutierrez is starting to see that work pay off as a member of the bantamweight division’s Top 15. There was a hiccup in his last bout as he dropped a decision to perennial contender Pedro Munhoz in April, but before that, he made his way into the rankings on the strength of an eight-fight unbeaten streak. So while the loss to Munhoz stung, the 32-year-old knew he couldn’t let it take him off his path.
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“It hurt a little bit at first, but then I had to go back to the drawing board and just get back to work,” he said. “At the end of the day, yes, on record you did lose. But I don't look at it so much as a loss, to be honest, because it's just the learning curve. What did you do that night? What was off that night that you didn't implement, that you didn't do? There are so many different variables…”
But?
“You just got to get back to work,” he laughs. And he’s right. When a fighter reaches that Top 15 level, it’s a whole new ballgame, and he found that out against Munhoz.
“You could look at it so many different ways,” Gutierrez said. “It was so close, and I felt like I could have pulled away. I felt like I won, to be honest, but the judges didn't see it that way and ultimately it was my job to not make it that way. I left the fight very close.”
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And just like that, Gutierrez’ unbeaten streak was a thing of the past, with all the outside noise that comes along with such a setback.
“I don't train for one specific night,” he said. “It’s a lifestyle. But you do have to sit on that loss and you have to wait, and then, unfortunately, you're remembered for your last fight. I had eight fights unbeaten and then I lose one and the whole world says you suck.”
Welcome to the new world, where everyone’s a critic. Gutierrez chuckles at it more than letting it get under a skin. He even laughs when talking about the reaction to his first-round knockout of Frankie Edgar. When he finished the former lightweight champion at UFC 281 in November of 2022, it was a nearly flawless performance ended by a knee at 2:01 of the opening round. Gutierrez proceeded to get messages telling him how he should have fought better.
“There were so many different things. I'm like, man, you win and it’s not enough. You lose, you suck. Either way, it's a lose-lose.”
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In that case, a fighter turns off the noise, embraces the grind, and on fight night, he goes to work. Gutierrez was supposed to face Montel Jackson a week ago. Now he’s fighting Alatengheili tomorrow. The names changed, but Gutierrez didn’t. He’s got a job to do.
“It's not like can say, ‘Oh, I can afford to lose this fight.’ Every fight is important.”
UFC Fight Night: Yusuff vs Barboza took place live from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 14, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
