LAS VEGAS – Not long ago, Ion Cutelaba was on the verge of potentially getting cut from the UFC, but today, that’s a different story.
The Romanian fighter has had quite the career bounceback in recent years. In 2024, he broke out of a 1-4 rut with three stoppage loses and now finds himself on 3-1 run with his latest win Saturday at UFC Fight Night 269, where he submitted Oumar Sy (12-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC).
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Cutelaba (20-11-1 MMA, 9-10-1 UFC) thinks the key to this resurgence has been controlling his anger, as he had the reputation for being hotheat both in and out of the cage.
“You know, this new control, the self-control that I show, it’s something that I worked on for a long time, something that I’ve kind of worked on myself,” Cutelaba told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC Fight Night 269 post-fight press conference. “I worked on controlling my anger. I worked on controlling my emotions, my strength. So this is very good for me. But don’t get it wrong. I still love the fights. I love the atmosphere. I love to hear lots of people cheer for me. You know, when I see this, when I feel this, it energizes me. But when there’s not that many people, when it’s a little more quieter, then there’s not necessarily room for it.”
Some online were calling for a ranked opponent for Cutelaba now that he’s on a good run. Cutelaba is down for a step up, but he’s mainly just focused on getting more activity, as he’s felt he’s fought little in recent years.
“Just give me a fight in Vegas. It does not matter,” Cutelaba said. “Top five, top 10, top 30 – does not matter. I’m a fighter. This is my job. This is what I do. Just give me a fight.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ion Cutelaba: ‘controlling my anger’ key in UFC career rebound
