NEWARK, N.J. – Ateba Gautier has no malicious intent when calling out Israel Adesanya.
Gautier (11-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) remained unbeaten in the octagon when he knocked out Ozzy Diaz (10-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) in Round 2 of their middleweight bout in Saturday’s UFC 328 featured prelim at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
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In his post-fight octagon interview, Gautier called out former UFC middleweight champion Adesanya (24-6 MMA, 13-6 UFC). Both African fighters, Gautier says Adesanya is someone he’s looked up to.
“I admire him a lot,” Gautier told MMA Junkie of Adesanya at the UFC 328 post-fight news conference. “He’s a good fighter. He’s a very, very good quality fighter. He’s an African brother. I want to face him because I really admire him.
“Never met him, but I want to meet him in the cage. He’s more than famous in Africa. More than famous. Everybody knows him. If you fight in Africa and you don’t know Adesanya, you don’t know what a fight is. As a fighter, everybody knows him.”
Susurkaev (12-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who finished Djorden Santos earlier in the night, was asked about Gautier after his win. He said he is seeking a bigger name than the Manchester Top Team prospect.
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“Let’s go step-by-step. Susurkaev says I’m not (famous). Who knows him?” Gautier said. “Who knows him? For what? Who knows him? Nobody. I build my name myself, not behind some other peoples’ names – myself, alone, with my team.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ateba Gautier explains why he wants to fight Israel Adesanya next
