Ateba Gautier makes bold claim to division after debut win

MEXICO CITY – Ateba Gautier thinks he’s about to do some serious damage to the middleweight division after his introductory octagon performance Saturday at UFC on ESPN 64.

Gautier (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made a splash in his promotional debut at Arena CDMX when he blasted Jose Daniel Medina (11-4 MMA, 0-2) with multiple hard shots before closing the show with a big knee for the first-round TKO. The resulted netted Gautier a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.

The 22-year-old who was signed to UFC off Dana White’s Contender Series, said his goals at this point are simple: He wants to be active and show the world what he’s made of him. And in his mind, what he’s made of is a degree of punching power unlike anyone els in the weight class.

“I feel I’m the biggest puncher at middleweight – I’m sure,” Gautier told MMA Junkie post-fight at UFC on ESPN 64. “I just want to be busy. I just want to keep fighting. I’m only 22 years old so my body recovers very fast, very quickly. Now I just want to keep being busy and fighting. I have nothing else to do, and I want to do that.”

There was some debate about whether referee Raul Porrata called things off too early after Gautier dropped Medina with the knee. For Gautier there was zero controversy, because he said he would’ve just kept hitting Medina anyway.

“I feel like the referee did his job,” Gautier said. “I could’ve kept punching, but the referee saved him.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 64.