Ahead of the PFL World Tournament semifinals, where he takes on Justin Wetzell, bantamweight Mando Gutierrez (11-3) described himself as being “at the bottom of the mountain looking up.”
That is, in reality, where Gutierrez finds himself, despite a berth in the semifinal round. He’s not a household name, not one of the crossover stars from Bellator. Yet Gutierrez has set himself up to possibly break through this season, which sees half a million dollars on the line should he go all the way in the tournament. “It’s really overwhelming when you’re looking from the very bottom, but it’s one step at a time,” he said during this week’s PFL Wichita media day. “And all I’m worried about is this Friday, and this Friday, my life is over.”
“I’m going out there, and there’s no plan after that. Once we cross that bridge, then we’ll go from there, but until then, I know Justin Wetzell is a handful, and I’ve got my hands full with that guy. So I’m ready to go out there and put on a show, and keep staking my claim and making a name for myself here in this organization and working my way up. But once that happens best believe I have plenty for everybody.”
Wetzell is someone Mando Gutierrez described as a “cool dude,” a fighter that he likes— “but he doesn’t have highlights,” he added. “He’s the same every fight. He’s a phenomenal fighter, he’s good at what he does, he’s good at dragging fights on, but that’s what he does, he drags fights on. I’m going out there to put on a stellar performance. If I’m in that fight, win lose or draw, I’ve never had a boring fight, never had a lackluster performance, every single time it’s going to be fireworks.”
Later, Gutierrez touched on the pair’s similar styles, noting that it might help set off those fireworks. “Typically when you put two grapplers in there you get no grappling whatsoever. So whether it does hit the mat or it doesn’t, I’m super-excited, and I’m super-ready to put on a show.”
Watch the full PFL Wichita media day appearance by Mando Gutierrez above.
