Chris Gutierrez made it a memorable night at UFC Columbus — unless you were opponent Danaa Batgerel. In which case, the night wasn’t exactly one for the memory pile.
Undefeated since his promotional debut in 2018, bantamweight Gutierrez was paired up with Mongolian Batgerel on the preliminary card. Like Gutierrez, Batgerel was undefeated since his promotional debut, riding the crest of three straight wins into Saturday’s fight at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
After a touch of gloves, both fighters took the center of the octagon. A leg kick and a right hand opened the fight by Batgerel. Gutierrez answered with his infamous low kick. Gutierrez landed a left hand and low kick. Batgerel backed Gutierrez up, but Gutierrez circled and escaped. Batgerel landed two hard right hands and rushed Gutierrez. Gutierrez missed a step-in knee. Gutierrez landed a body kick followed by a jab. About 90 seconds left in the round, Batgerel landed two right hands again. Gutierrez landed a jab, body kick, low kick combo. Thirty seconds left in the round and Gutierrez missed a spinning elbow, and Batgerel landed a slam takedown to end the round.
The spinning back elbow, however, was a sign of things to come. Round two started with the fighters exchanging kicks. A minute into the round, Gutierrez landed a 1-2, and Batgerel countered with a power right. Gutierrez landed a high knee and a low kick. Two minutes or so left in the frame, and Gutierrez landed the same spinning back fist that he missed in the first round. Only this time, it connected. Batgerel dropped, and Gutierrez pounced on him, dropping elbows to force the referee to jump in.
PERFECT spinning backfist from @CGutierrezMMA 😱 #UFCColumbus pic.twitter.com/SC3KwqwZs5
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 26, 2022
An impressive, highlight reel win for Gutierrez, who has been on a roll. Gutierrez has five straight wins, while Batgerel sees his own win streak snapped.
Official Result: Chris Gutierrez def. Danaa Batgerel by TKO (spinning back fist & eblows), Round 2, 2:34
