UFC 324: Atiba Gauthier on Cats, Michael Jackson and Knockouts

At the age of 19, Gauthier moved more than 3,500 miles to Manchester from Cameroon.

He left behind six siblings, his mother and the only world he knew to join the Manchester Top Team, where UFC featherweight Leron Murphy also trains.

If the Cats – gifted to him by his coach Karl Prince – were supposed to provide a sense of comfort after the move to Gauthier, his performance indicates that the plan has worked, as he reaches the first round three times in 2025.

This success put him in a position to change his family’s life in Cameroon, in particular by allowing his mother to later retire to buy the house of her dreams.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan recently praised Gauthier’s “intimidating power, blazing speed and excellent technique” and hailed him as the “future” of the division.

“I always say the sky is the only limit,” says Gauthier. “I haven’t taken off yet. I’m still on the ground, so I need to try harder.”

But even after winning nine of his 10 fights since turning pro in 2021, Gauthier says he is plagued by self-doubt.

“I find myself so low that sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and think: ‘I need to train – I’m not that good,’” he says.

“I look at people like Michael Jackson and wonder how he got to this level, and why can’t I get to it too? What’s stopping me?

“It’s the same for Muhammad Ali and Cristiano Ronaldo. How did they get there? It didn’t happen in one day, it took years of hard work.

“They didn’t win all the time, but when they lost it was a lesson. If that’s the mentality, you can’t really lose. Muhammad Ali lost, and then he became very special.”

“In 100 years I want people to say: I want to be like Otaiba. Not just one person, but many people.”