On the age of 19 Gautier moved greater than 3,500 miles to Manchester from Cameroon.
He left behind six siblings, his mom and the one world he knew to affix Manchester High Group, the place UFC featherweight Lerone Murphy additionally trains.
If the cats – gifted to him by his coach Carl Prince – had been supposed to supply Gautier with a way of consolation after transferring, his performances counsel it’s a plan that has labored, with three first-round finishes in 2025.
Such success has put him ready to remodel the lives of his household in Cameroon, most notably by permitting his mom to retire later shopping for her dream house.
UFC commentator Joe Rogan lately praised Gautier’s “terrifying energy, tremendous pace and wonderful approach” and hailed him because the “future” of the division.
“I all the time say the sky is my solely restrict. I have never taken off but. I am nonetheless on the bottom, so I have to push myself more durable,” says Gautier.
However even after successful 9 of his 10 fights since turning skilled in 2021, Gautier says he struggles with self-doubt.
“I see myself so low that typically I get up in the midst of the night time and assume, ‘I want to coach – I am not that good’,” he says.
“I take a look at folks like Michael Jackson and marvel how he reached that stage, and why cannot I get there too? What’s blocking me?
“It is the identical with Muhammad Ali and Cristiano Ronaldo. How did they get there? It did not occur in someday – it took years of laborious work.
“They did not win on a regular basis, however after they misplaced it was a lesson. If that is the mindset, you’ll be able to by no means actually lose. Muhammad Ali misplaced, and after that he grew to become so particular.
“In 100 years I would like folks to say, ‘I wish to be like Ateba’. Not only one individual – many individuals.”
