UFC Vegas 45 Fighter to Watch: Mateusz Gamrot
Former KSW two-division champ has found his footing in the UFC and can climb into the Top 15 with a win over Diego Ferreira on Saturday
Name: Mateusz Gamrot
Nickname: Gamer
Record: 19-1 (1 NC) overall; 2-1 UFC
Division: Lightweight
Team: Czerwony Smok / American Top Team
Opponent: Diego Ferreira (17-4 overall, 8-4 UFC)
Although there is a segment of the fight-loving population that would have liked for Saturday’s UFC 269 pay-per-view spectacular to be the final event of the year (and I get that), we’re back at it for one more show this weekend, and a week after Charles Oliveira solidified his position atop the lightweight division, a new contender could announce his presence.
Mateusz Gamrot is the real deal, and after starting his UFC tenure with a split decision loss, the former KSW two-division champion has shown why so many people were excited about his arrival in the first place.
The Polish standout, who turned 31 on Saturday, registered his first victory inside the Octagon in April, hitting Scott Holtzman with a clean, crisp one-two that dropped the veteran competitor where he stood. One second “Hot Sauce” is pressing forward, looking for ways to cut off the Octagon, hem Gamrot in, and land something of substance, and the next, he’s dazed on the canvas after a sharp “thwap-THWAP!” echoed throughout the UFC APEX.
Three months later, Gamrot took on Jeremy Stephens, who was returning to the lightweight division after a lengthy run as a tenured featherweight.
It took Gamrot 12 seconds to get in on a takedown, 19 seconds for him to put Stephens on the deck, and 65 seconds to secure a second straight Performance of the Night bonus, working through Stephens’ attempted kimura from bottom to lock onto one of his own and torque out a tap from the veteran.
While there are sure to be some that want to explain away those twin dynamic performances based on who they happened against and the struggles those two fighters have endured of late — second straight stoppage loss for Holtzman, Stephens hasn’t won a fight since the start of 2019 — please do not make that mistake.
Instead, look at the technique, look at who has finished those veteran stalwarts, and look at the overall arc of what Gamrot has done.
Yes, he lost his promotional debut — it happens – but before that, he was undefeated through 18 fights, with wins over Mansour Barnoui, Norman Park, and Kleber Koike Erbst, and won titles in two weight classes. And since then, he’s finished two veterans that had only previously been finished by current Top 10 talents, plus he stopped them in two very different ways, which is an indication of the diversity of his skill set and the danger he presents both standing and on the ground.
Gamrot is a real threat, and he can prove that further on Saturday night with a win over Diego Ferreira.
The Fortis MMA product enters on a two-fight skid, but is still clinging to a spot in the Top 15 given that those setbacks came against Beneil Dariush (split decision) and Gregor Gillespie (TKO, R2), and he had won six straight before that.
Just as you shouldn’t judge Holtzman and Stephens just on the most recent outings, the same holds true for Ferreira, who gassed hard and gave up in his fight with Gillespie in May after starting well.
He took the fight on short notice, missed weight, and pulled a Kendall Roy at Tern Haven, and now he’s about to be stuck in the cage with an emerging talent looking to punch his ticket to the Top 15 by closing out the year with a third straight win.
He’s better than he showed against Gillespie, and needs a strong bounce-back effort here, which means we should be in for a spirited contest between the two on Saturday.
This fight should tell us everything we need to know about where each of these lightweight hopefuls stand at the moment, what to expect from them in the first half of 2022 (which always feels weird to write), and in Gamrot’s case, where his ceiling might rest.
If Gamrot is able to put Ferreira on the first three-fight skid of his career, he should climb into the rankings, where a fight with someone like Gillespie or Rafael Dos Anjos if he can get healthy would make a lot of sense. From there, another victory puts him in the Top 10 and chasing down a spot in the title conversation.
“Gamer” is the goods, people, so be sure to pay attention to his this weekend and beyond.