PLANTATION, Fla. – With back-to-back first-round knockout wins, it’s safe to say the confidence is bubbling over for Ion Cutelaba.
But Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 8, he takes on what will be his most accomplished opponent to date. knockouts of Henrique da Silva and Gadzhimurad Antigulov are nice and all, but when your next opponent is a former title challenger who went the distance with Jon Jones, it’s decidedly a step up in competition.
Cutelaba (14-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) takes on Glover Teixeira (28-7 MMA, 11-5 UFC) in a light heavyweight bout on the main card at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla., near Fort Lauderdale. The main card streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN2.
The two were supposed to meet in January at UFC on ESPN+ 1 in Brooklyn, N.Y., before Cutelaba was sidelined with an injury. But he got the fight back in short order.
“I’m feeling ready for this fight,” Cutelaba told MMA Junkie at a Thursday media day in South Florida. “The wins I just got give me the experience to make it just like the last two. I’m very thankful that I got another opportunity to take this step and this fight.”
Cutelaba fought just once in 2017, and that was a 22-second knockout of da Silva in New Zealand. He fought just once in 2018 – a TKO of Antigulov in Canada. The slow down was a big change after he fought three times in the promotion in 2016.
But despite Teixeira’s credentials, the 25-year-old Cutelaba thinks it’s time to usher in some new blood in the light heavyweight division Saturday night. And that, he thinks, means the 39-year-old Teixeira might get shown the door.
“I just want to tell you two things: It’s my time,” Cutelaba said. “It’s time for a new generation. Tomorrow is tomorrow, and yesterday was yesterday. Teixeira is a great fighter, but it’s time for the new generation.”
For more from Cutelaba on his fight with Teixeira, check out the video above.
And for more on UFC on ESPN+ 8, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
