Chris Gutierrez soon gets the distinction of being the last name on an all-time great’s Ultimate Fighting Championship resume.
The 31-year-old bantamweight will face Frankie Edgar in a featured UFC 281 attraction on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. Edgar, 41, plans to retire afterward. Gutierrez enters the Octagon undefeated (6-0-1) across his past seven outings. He last competed at UFC on ESPN 33, where he cut down Batgerel Danaa with a spinning backfist and follow-up elbows in the second round of their March 26 confrontation.
As Gutierrez makes final preparations for his upcoming battle with Edgar at 135 pounds, here are five things you might not know about him:
1. Durability ranks high on his endearing traits list.
Gutierrez has only been finished once in his 24-fight career. He submitted to a rear-naked choke from Raoni Barcelos in the second round of their encounter at “The Ultimate Fighter 28” Finale on Nov. 30, 2018. Gutierrez’s three other losses resulted from decisions against Jerrod Sanders, Timur Valiev and Jake Constant.
2. He surrounds himself with proven commodities.
“El Guapo” operates out of the esteemed Factory X camp in Englewood, Colorado, roughly 10 miles south of Denver. There, Gutierrez has honed his skills alongside a number of top-shelf teammates, from Anthony Smith and Dustin Jacoby to Brandon Royval, Devonte Smith and Alexander Hernandez.
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3. He sat at the head of the table in multiple companies.
Gutierrez has held titles in the Sugar Creek Showdown and World Fighting Championships promotions. He laid claim to the SCS bantamweight crown with a 42-second technical knockout of Craig Ross at SCS 23 on Nov. 15, 2014, then captured the WFC bantamweight belt when he forced Aaron Phillips to retire on his stool after three rounds at WFC 35 on Feb. 28, 2015.
4. He creates cracks in foundations.
The Marc Montoya protégé has stopped two opponents with leg kicks: Jimmy Flick at an Xtreme Fight Night show in 2018 and Vince Morales at UFC on ESPN 30 in 2020. Gutierrez has not landed fewer than 17 kicks to the lower extremities in any of his eight UFC appearances and has connected with at least 30 of them on three different occasions. He was credited with 33 of them in a unanimous decision over Ryan MacDonald at UFC Fight Night 148, 36 of them against Morales and 32 of them in a unanimous decision over Andre Ewell at UFC 258.
5. Availability has been one of his selling points.
This will be the 10th consecutive year in which Gutierrez has made at least two appearances. He fought four times in 2013, going 2-1-1, and again in 2014, going a perfect 4-0.
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