Ion Cutelaba: Collecting More Data

“When I came into the UFC, I was too much about the theatrics, too emotional, so it’s about maturing,” Cutelaba said on Wednesday morning as we spoke ahead of his return on Saturday. “Everything comes with getting older.”

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After making a name for himself by painting his body green ahead of ceremonial weigh-in events and frequently getting into shoving matches or intense staredowns with his opponents ahead of their fight, Cutelaba dialed back the signature antics ahead of his last outing earlier this year against Tanner Boser.

Entering on a three-fight losing streak, Cutelaba showed more poise, more focus, both prior to and during his fight, registering a first-round stoppage win over the Canadian to spoil his light heavyweight debut. It was a crucial victory for the combative powerhouse, not only because it got things moving in the right direction for him once again, but also because it provided an indication that the changes he’s made to his preparations might be taking root and paying dividends.

“I think it will be a blend of the two,” he said with a smile when asked if fans should expect his trademark aggressive self or his more subdued alter-ego when he steps into the Octagon with Lins to close out the prelims this weekend. “(It will be) a mix between ‘The Hulk’ and the more patient, more reserved fighter from last time.”

When asked about the shift in approach and overall changes he made prior to his last fight and whether they are now permanent pieces of his preparations, Cutelaba gave a thoughtful answer, basically saying he needs more data before being able to say for sure.

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“What I will say is that I cannot say definitively what changed until after this fight, because this fight will tell me if what I changed is really working,” offered the well-spoken father of two, who has only gone the distance three times in his UFC career and has not seen a third round since his September 2021 clash with Devin Clark. “I will be able to tell you about the things I changed after this fight.”

The “we need to wait and see” approach makes a great deal of sense, because the last thing an athlete — or anyone, really — wants to do is commit to an approach, believe it’s working, and then find out otherwise.

But on first blush, the more dialed in version of Cutelaba certainly looked different and like someone that might finally be ready to make a run towards the Top 15 and beyond in the wide open 205-pound weight class.

While he still marched across the Octagon to gesture at Boser during the introductions like he’s done throughout his UFC tenure, Cutelaba ditched his usual aggressiveness and more rambunctious approach out of the chute in favor of a more patient, tactical game plan, throwing single shots and waiting for opportunities to present themselves rather than forcing the issue.

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And it worked, as less than two minutes into the opening round, he wobbled Boser with a thudding right hand that backed him to the fence. Even then, Cutelaba was measured, dragging the dazed Canadian to the canvas before pinning him to the fence and unloading a torrent of punches that brought about the stoppage.

Now, six months later, he’s ready to return and put the changes he’s made to the test once more.

“This fight is very important because I have been in the UFC now for seven years, and if it goes how I would like, it will mean that I have solved my problems, what has kept me from having success in the past,” Cutelaba said of Saturday’s fight with Lins, who enters on a three-fight winning streak after beginning his UFC run with a pair of losses at heavyweight.

“I think this six months was great because it was two camps and they were very intense,” added the light heavyweight stalwart, who was scheduled to face Ovince Saint Preux in August before the bout was scrapped. “I was able to address a lot of things I wanted to work on and continue making changes.”

Cutelaba is cautiously optimistic that those changes will produce another strong performance and positive result. If that comes to pass, it would be the first time in more than five years that he’s registered back-to-back wins.

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But he’s also aware that things rarely go according to plan inside the Octagon.

“None of my fights have gone the way I thought,” he said with a big smile when asked how he sees Saturday’s battle playing out. “Of course, I would love to finish him in the first round, but I would also like to see how I do in a three-round fight, so we’ll have to see.”