Rivalries: Ion Cutelaba

Ion Cutelaba might best be described as a tantalizing talent who appears to be running out of time to fulfill his potential in the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division.

The 29-year-old Moldova native will get another chance to prove himself under the main-card lights when he squares off with Tanner Boser in a featured UFC on ESPN 44 attraction this Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. Cutelaba climbs into the Octagon on a troubling three-fight losing streak. He has compiled a 5-8-1 record across his 14 appearances in the UFC, with seven of those eight losses having resulted in finishes.

As Cutelaba makes final preparations for his forthcoming clash with Boser at 205 pounds, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Jared Cannonier

“The Gorilla” made a successful transition to 205 pounds at “The Ultimate Fighter 24” Finale, where he took a unanimous decision from Cutelaba in a three-round light heavyweight showcase on Dec. 3, 2016 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges scored it 29-28. Cutelaba uncorked body-head combinations and secured two takedowns inside the first five minutes but pushed a pace he could not keep. Cannonier turned the corner in Round 2, where he put together basic but effective two- and three-punch combinations before scrambling into top position and cutting loose with some ground-and-pound. By the time the third round arrived, Cutelaba was a spent force and resorted to winging wild punches in desperation. Cannonier blasted him with probing right hands from distance and crushing uppercuts in close, as he pulled away down the stretch and established a ceiling for the Moldovan brute.

Khalil Rountree

Cutelaba put perhaps the most impressive victory of his career in the books when he blew away “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 23 finalist with a volley of elbows in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 160 special feature on Sept. 28, 2019 at Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark. Rountree, who entered the Octagon as a slight favorite, succumbed to blows 2:35 into Round 1. Cutelaba neutralized the Tiger Muay Thai rep with takedowns and foot sweeps, built a lead with ground-and-pound and eventually trapped him at the base of the cage. There, Rountree was little more than a sitting duck. Cutelaba took a crouched position above him and unleashed a burst of violent elbows that prompted referee Marc Goddard to intervene.

Magomed Ankalaev

The Akhmat Fight Team export wiped out Cutelaba with punches in the first round of their long-delayed UFC 254 light heavyweight rematch on Oct. 24, 2020 at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The stoppage was called 4:19 into Round 1. Ankalaev was patient and measured. He connected with a front kick to the face, drew Cutelaba into punching range and let his hands and reflexes do the rest. Ankalaev knocked down the Moldovan with a counter straight left, reset and went back on the hunt. He countered an ill-conceived Cutelaba backfist with a crushing left hook, pounced on his fallen rival and rendered him unconscious with a volley of punches and hammerfists. Ankalaev—who had beaten “The Hulk” under less-desirable circumstances eight months earlier—moved to 2-0 in their head-to-head series.

Devin Clark

Cutelaba banked his first win in nearly two years and did so in overwhelming fashion when he rolled to a unanimous decision over the onetime Resurrection Fighting Alliance titleholder in their three-round UFC Fight Night 192 co-main event on Sept. 18, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Scores were 30-26, 29-26 and 29-27. Clark weathered a prolonged beating that could have been stopped on more than one occasion. Cutelaba decked the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, native with an overhand right in the first round and assaulted him with elbow-laced ground-and-pound. Clark’s situation only deteriorated in the middle stanza, where he conceded a takedown to the powerful sambo practitioner. Cutelaba climbed to full mount and once again cut loose with punches and elbows, his efforts resulting in significant damage to the American’s lower row of teeth. Clark escaped full mount in the third round, sprawled on an attempted takedown with roughly a minute to go in the match and let his hands go in a bid for a Hail Mary finish that went unrealized.

Kennedy Nzechukwu

The monstrous 6-foot-5 Fortis MMA rep overcame an inauspicious start and took another step forward in the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division when he chopped down Cutelaba with a knee strike and follow-up punches in the second round of their makeshift UFC Fight Night 215 headliner on Nov. 19, 2022 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Nzechukwu finished it 62 seconds into Round 2, stepping up to shoulder the marquee when the original Derrick Lewis-Sergey Spivak main event fell apart in the hours leading up to the show. Cutelaba dazed the “African Savage” with a thudding right hand in the first round, tripped him to the floor and climbed to full mount. Nzechukwu stayed composed under duress and worked back to his feet before being returned to the mat via a head-and-arm throw. Cutelaba threatened with a scarf hold armlock but failed to pin down the submission. Early in the second round, Nzechukwu clipped him with a perfectly timed knee, gave chase with punches and reset. A second knee sent Cutelaba careening into the fence, where he was met by power punches from both hands until referee Keith Peterson had seen enough.