UFC Middleweight Prospect Ateba Gautier continues to compare with comparisons with one of the most dangerous legends of the Octagon.
Many eyes were aimed at UFC Middleweight Prospect Ateba Gautier during the UFC 318 Prelims with good reason. Only two fights in his UFC career, Gautier has proven to be one of the most destructive middle weights in the division, despite only a handful of fighting on his record.
That trend then continued to fought Gautier with 15-Fecht veteran Robert Valentin on UFC 318.
After a short finish in his UFC debut in March, Gautier wanted to prove that he could go deep into the waters on UFC 318. But luckily for the talented prospect, Gautier did not need a half-round to get the job done.
Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC
Ateba Gautier has demolished Robert Valentin with a stump storm on UFC 318
Gautier and Valentin helped on Saturday at the UFC 318 Prelims in New Orleans. The card was headed by a BMF title Matchup between Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier.
Gautier and Valentin wasted little time to come afterwards in the first round of their UFC 318 fight. Valentin stormed forward in the first seconds and landed several annoying low stairs to Gautier early on.
But Gautier did not need long to find his momentum because he surprised Gautier with a right hand forced Valentin against the cage. Gautier reacted by throwing a barrage of bumps to Valentin while he covered, but remarkably enough, Valentin called Gautier to keep bumping despite the suffering of serious damage.
Gautier did not leave the accelerator pedal away after beautiful Valentin with a left hook on the chin, leaving Valentin with his hands down and defenseless. While Gautier stormed forward, he closed the deal to the body with a nasty uppercut to drop Valentin and win the fight through TKO.
View the finishing series below.
Another first round KO !!
Ateba Gautier makes Robert Valentin !!!! #Ufc318 pic.twitter.com/kfbpvcckip
– Championship Rounds (@champrds) July 20, 2025
Gautier's performance on UFC 318 came after switching off Jose Medina with a knee in UFC Mexico City in March. The victory fought comparisons with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, because of the stunning power and cruelty of Gautier in the cage.
The 23-year-old Gautier earned Knockouts in the first round in six of his eight career victories, including a head-stage knockout on Titan FC 82 that attracted the attention of UFC Matchmakers. He then earned a UFC contract by eliminating Yura Naito last year during the Dana White Contender Series.
UFC 318 contained a Versace model that received a savage ko just a few days before photo shoot
Gautier's performance was far from the only striking highlight during the UFC 318 -Prelims. Islam Dulatov, a colleague DWCS -Aluin, achieved a savage knockout win just a few days before his planned photo shoot with GQ.
Hometown favorite Carli Judice earned a late knockout in the first fight of the night with a knee for the body that flying weight Nicolle Caliari flat. Middleweight Brunno Ferreira continued his entry streak by almost breaking the arm of his opponent in the first round.
Follow here at Bloody Elbow for all the latest news and highlights of UFC 318.