Despite assembling a super team in his corner including the likes of Khamzat Chimaev and Ilia Topuria, Guram Kutateladze put on a disappointing performance in his return.
After being inactive since August last year when he welcomed Jordan Vucenic to the promotion, Guram Kutateladze returned this Saturday at UFC London.
Standing across from him in the event opener was Kaue Fernandes, who since joining the promotion in 2023 has gone 1-1, showing to be a potentially exciting addition to the lightweight division.
‘The Georgian Viking’ is widely regarded as a dark horse at 155lbs having picked up a win over ranked contender, Mateusz Gamrot and having given Damir Ismagulov an extremely close fight.
Khamzat Chimaev and Ilia Topuria watch on as Kutateladze gets brutalized
The Georgian assembled somewhat of a superteam in his corner for his UFC London fight, including former UFC featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria, Khamzat Chimaev, and Aleksandre Topuria.
However, the team of elite athletes had to watch on as Kutateladze put on one of his worst performances thus far, getting utterly brutalized by his Brazilian opponent.
From the very beginning of the fight, the 33-year-old was visibly struggling with the unorthodox striking of Fernandes as he chopped down the legs of the Georgian, dropping him with brutal leg kicks.
It seemed as though Kutateladze wouldn’t get out of the first round to receive corner advice from his elite teammates but he surprisingly did.
Unfortunately for him, though, it didn’t make much difference as the second round painted a similar picture and Fernandes continued teeing off on him, bloodying his face and continuing to disable his movement.
After dropping him several times again, Guram somehow made it out of the second round, clearly two rounds down and close to getting finished.
What’s next for Guram Kutateladze following another disappointing loss?
Somehow, the 33-year-old made it to the judges’ scorecards, avoiding a finish but losing the fight comprehensively 30-27 on all three judges’ scorecards.
Ultimately, during his time in the promotion, Kutateladze hasn’t lived up to his potential and continues to teeter on the edge of being cut.
Now five fights into his UFC career, being 2-3, there is a possibility ‘The Georgian Viking’ may not get another chance to don the UFC gloves.
