Kansas City, MO – Coming off a knockout victory over an MMA legend, UFC bantamweight Chris Gutierrez looks to do it again when he takes on storied fighter Pedro Munhoz at UFC Kansas City on Saturday night.
Gutierrez (19-4-2) is coming off a victory over one of the bigger names in UFC history. The knockout victory over Frankie Edgar at UFC 281 put him on fans’ radar, but Edgar was still the focus of that fight for most.
“Again I think I’ve been overlooked my whole life in a lot of situations. I think leading into that fight of course the attention should have been on him. He’s the hall of famer. He’s the one that’s put in the time,” Gutierrez told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.
“I’ve been flying under the radar. I’ve been doing all the things I was supposed to be doing. Everything led to that night.”
Following the win over Edgar, Gutierrez made some calls out in hopes of getting another fight sooner than later and against another name. One of the names he mentioned was that of Pedro Munhoz.
“Whoever you get lined up with, you really get no choice, so the fact that I did call him out and the fight was able to be made. I think this fight is going to be exciting for the fans really,” he said.
“He’s a credible opponent. He’s been around and you’ve seen what he can do. He brings an incredible skill set, and so ultimately that’s what we’re here to do is test ourselves against the greatest.”
Gutierrez mentioned that he felt overlooked many times in his life, but even now after the win over Edgar, he still feels overlooked and disrespected.
“I don’t believe I get the respect I deserved. But again that goes to show…that’s been my whole life like that. I’ve been overlooked my whole life. I really haven’t gotten the respect that I deserved, or earned most importantly, but that’s ok. I know at the end of the day I have never been given anything,” he said.
“So when I accomplish something it almost feels twice as nice because I know I wasn’t handed anything. I always felt like I have to do twice as much to get the same that first place gets. That’s been my whole life and I’ve accepted it, and I’ll get my respect by doing what I’m going to keep doing.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Chris Gutierrez above. He takes on Pedro Munhoz at UFC Kansas City on Saturday night.
