Polish Star Draws Ranked Opponent In Just His 4th UFC Bout
As respectfully as possible, Matuesz Gamrot is insistent he’ll turn heads on December 18 when he faces Diego Ferreira at UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs Daukaus.
“I shock the world,” Gamrot told UFC.com of his expectations for December 18. “I shock every fighter in the division. I want to show that I am the problem for everybody in this division.”
Gamrot carries himself with the confidence of an undefeated fighter despite dropping his UFC debut in October 2020. Moreover, he still views his record as unblemished. This isn’t a like-for-like comparison to the way Sean O’Malley claimed undefeated status after losing to Marlon Vera, however. Gamrot lost to Guram Kutateladze via split decision, but in interviews after the bout, Kutateladze admitted he wasn’t sure if the judges got that one right.
That’s the way the fight game goes, sometimes, especially when it’s left in the judges’ hands. Gamrot has been much more definitive in his two fights after that, scoring a knockout over Scott Holtzman and a submission win against Jeremy Stephens. Both victories earned him performances bonuses and some dark-horse buzz in the lightweight division.
That brings him to his first crack at the Top 15 in the form of Ferreira, a 12-fight UFC veteran who is coming off back-to-back losses to Beneil Dariush and Gregor Gillespie. The Brazilian is a submission ace with ever-improving striking, and he often presents a dangerous puzzle for his opponents to solve. Gamrot, not short on confidence, is certain he has the goods to get past Ferreira this weekend.
“I think, from a technical point of view, this will be a simple fight for me,” Gamrot said. “Of course, I don’t want to sound arrogant, but behind my confidence, there is respect, hard work, and appreciation for my opponent. Diego is a great fighter. It is an honor for me to share the Octagon with him.
“Every fighter from the rankings is high-level,” he continued. “There are high-level guys everywhere, but Diego Ferreira is very good in the striking, puts pressure all the time, and now, he’s much better at wrestling than before, and, of course, the ground game and jiu jitsu is high-level. But I see a lot of holes in his game, and I will show you everything this Saturday.”
Gamrot’s enthusiasm is as blatant as his self-belief. It helps that he is competing for a third time in 2021 after a difficult 2020. At 31 years old, Gamrot seems like he is in his fighting prime, which makes the urgency to make a run even more apt.
The former KSW lightweight champion went along with his usual training schedule, putting work in at his home gym in Poland before finishing the last two months of camp at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida.
"MMA is controlled violence and you're going to see me control the fight from the start."
With the tools sharpened, all that’s left for Gamrot is to take care of business and make those watching from Poland proud with his performance. Moreover, he expects a win over Ferreira to set him up for even bigger things in the talented lightweight Top 15 as the calendar turns to 2022. December 18 could represent the first step on that climb.
