Gautier embraces battle scars ahead of Kopylov clash at UFC 332: 'I chose to be a fighter'

Ateba Abega Gautier has a simple message for any fighter who steps into the Octagon hoping to come out looking pristine: don’t bother. The Cameroonian middleweight, who faces Roman Kopylov (15-5) at UFC 332 on 3 October at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, says the physical toll of combat sports is something he wears with pride.

“Don’t fight if you want to stay clean,” Gautier told the UFC. “If you want to look pretty, don’t fight. Because there’s always someone in front of you who wants to look dirty. And he wants you to look dirty as well. So, I’m not there to look clean. I have scars on my eyebrows. These are gold… I’ll never get rid of them. So, why are you fighting? To be a model? No, I didn’t choose to be a model. I chose to be a fighter.”

Gautier arrives at UFC 332 with a record of 11-1 and a reputation for ending fights early. He has finished four of his five UFC opponents, three of them inside the opening round — a finishing rate that underlines the kind of violent intent behind his pre-fight philosophy.

Kopylov presents a meaningful step up in experience. The Russian is 7-5 inside the UFC and has shared the Octagon with established middleweights throughout his tenure with the promotion. He heads into the bout on the back of a win over Marco Tulio, a result that helped him recover from back-to-back losses to Paulo Costa and Gregory Rodrigues.

For Gautier, the matchup is another opportunity to impose his aggressive style on a seasoned opponent. His willingness to absorb damage in pursuit of the finish has defined his rise through the division, and his comments suggest he views the physical cost of fighting not as a drawback but as proof of commitment to the craft.