UFC News: Upcoming Light-Heavyweight Prospect Promises To Be The UFC's Next Big Thing

What's the story?

Up and rising UFC light heavyweight prospect, Ion Cutelaba, has promised the promotion of bringing the golden years of 205-pound division, back to life. Cutelaba has gained a fair share of popularity with his off-beat appearances in many of his UFC weigh-ins and is willing to continue this trend, going forward in the business.

In case you didn't know..

Ion Cutelaba is a Moldovan professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the UFC's light heavyweight division. He began training in Greco-Roman wrestling during his teenage years and complemented the discipline by acquiring knowledge and experience in other forms of combat such as Sambo and Judo. In the year 2012, he represented Moldova and finished first in the 90-kg category of the European Sambo Championships.

Cutelaba made his mixed martial arts professional debut in April 2012 and signed with UFC during the spring months of 2016. His UFC debut came against Misha Cirkunov at UFC Fight Night 89 which he ended up losing by way of submission via an arm triangle choke Since June 2017, Cutelaba has managed to amass a two-fight win streak against Henrique da Silva and Gadzhimurad Antigulov, respectively.

The heart of the matter

Ion Cutelaba might currently be in his amateur days with the UFC but is known famously for painting his body green, to appear to his fans as 'The Incredible Hulk,' during multiple weigh-ins. He also wore WWE Hall of Famer, Bret 'The Hitman' Hart's sunglasses when he walked down the aisle to the Octagon at Hart's hometown, Calgary. However, when asked about his sketchy relationship with the UFC's official apparel sponsorer, Reebok, this is what he had to say:

“Unfortunately, a lot of the time I feel that due to the marketing restrictions I can’t really express myself freely as a fighter, I always want to put on a show but am not able to do what I would want to at the weigh-ins or promote myself the way I would like to. Hopefully next time I will be granted permission.”

Following his latest victory in the cage against Gadzhimurad Antigulov, Cutelaba wasted little to no time in calling out Daniel Cormier during his post-fight interview.

“I guarantee you that if DC fights me, he will be praying that the fight ends as soon as possible, due to the pain I’d be causing him. He knows that I’ll be trouble for him in the future, my power would be too much, and with youth on my side, he would find it hard to take me down repeatedly. To be honest, there isn’t anyone on the roster who would not struggle against me.”

What's next?

Ion Cutelaba will be making his upcoming appearance on the UFC in the promotions' debut event on ESPN+, on January 19th, in Brooklyn, New York. He will be taking on Glover Teixeira in his next contest, in which he promises to show the world what he is capable of bringing to the table.

Are you excited to see this latest firepower in the UFC's future light heavyweight roster? Leave us with your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below!