Since moving down to light heavyweight in 2022, Philipe Lins (17-5) has won three fights in a row, and will be looking to make it four with a win over Ion Cutelaba this Saturday at UFC Vegas 80.
Lins’ last loss came against Tanner Boser back in 2020, and from there he didn’t compete again until April 2022. In that two year span, he was booked six separate times, but each time the fight fell through due to injuries to the Brazilian.
At the UFC Vegas 80 media day, “Monstro” admitted that during that time he had a lot of problems, including family problems that kept him out of the Octagon.
“I had a lot of problems, family problems, injuries, personal problems but I won over everything and put my mind in place and just kept going and never gave up and now I’m here doing what I love and it’s always a pleasure to be here and I’m ready to put on a statement.”
His opponent for this one, Cutelaba, bounced back from a three fight losing skid last time out, with a win over Tanner Boser. Not so long ago, the Moldovan was sitting inside the top 15 rankings at light heavyweight, and Lins realizes that the fight is a big opportunity for him due to the name value of “The Hulk.”
“It’s a great opportunity to fight him, he’s a great name and a former ranked guy, but I’m ready, I’m ready for the challenge and it doesn’t matter what he’s doing or what he does best. I’ve said this fight has two ingredients, gasoline and fire and everyone knows when this was put together what will happen.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 80 media day appearance from Philipe Lins above.
