Street fighter too: UFC 318 winner Ateba Gautier opens up on his past experience
The Cameroonian powerhouse needed just 70 seconds to take out Robert Valentin in Saturday's UFC 318 prelims at Smoothie King Center. Gautier (8-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has now finished his past seven opponents in a row, six of them in the first round.
Just 23, Gautier says he garnered experience from fighting in the streets – something his mother heavily disapproved of.
"I always used to fight, but not like proper fight," Gautier told reporters during his post-fight news conference. "I don't have much experience like competition fights. But I always used to fight in the street in my country. Even when I was in (university), I used to fight in uni. So, for me, it was normal. I wanted to fight, but my mom, 'Oh no, you can't fight if you don't get a degree in university.'
"That's why I went to uni. I did physics just to make her (think) OK, like I'm smart. I'm not stupid, but fighting is not for stupid people. I'm smart, but I want to fight. I just enjoy the feelings, adrenaline, how you feel. Always you feel like you're in danger. I like this feeling."
Gautier is happy to prove that he can also be a threat on the ground but doesn't think it's necessary to show off that part of his game.
"My camp was focused on wrestling a lot," Gautier said. "We did a lot of striking and a lot of wrestling. Too much, but I can't show my wrestling level, my grappling level in a few minutes. It will take time. If someone wants, OK, we're going to go. But if you don't get there, what's the point?"
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