Ion Cutelaba

BIOGRAPHY

Ion Cutelaba is a Moldovan professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the UFC Light Heavyweight division. He began his career in 2012, fighting for various regional promotions including EFC Worldwide and M-1 Global. Cutelaba has earned an impressive record of 18 wins, 5 losses and 1 draw since he started fighting professionally.

Cutelaba was born on November 12th 1992 in Chisinau, Moldova. From a young age he displayed an inclination towards martial arts and combat sports which eventually led to him joining MMA as a full time fighter at the age of 19. Before becoming involved with MMA training however, Cutelaba was heavily involved with boxing and wrestling which proved invaluable when transitioning into the world of MMA competition as it allowed him to develop important skills such as striking combinations and grappling techniques that would later become his bread and butter inside the octagon.

His debut fight occurred during April 2013 for M-1 Global against Oleg Olenichev where he won via rear naked choke submission within two minutes of round one. This fight established Ion’s dominance early on within his career proving that he was no stranger to victory inside the cage or out of it – having also previously won several national boxing competitions throughout his teens years back in Moldova before deciding to pursue an MMA career full time .

In 2015 Cutelaba signed with The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) making history by becoming first ever athlete from Moldova to compete under their banner; His promotional debut occurring during August 2016 at UFC Fight Night 92 where ion defeated Jonathan Wilson via TKO within just 25 seconds earning himself ‘Performance Of The Night’ honors alongside significant attention from both fans & media alike due this outstanding display strength & skillful technique exhibited by cutlera during this particular bout . Throughout 2017 ion went on earn further success within organization amassing five additional victories over names such Galore Bofando, Jared Cannonier & Khalil Rountree Jr then subsequently suffering consecutive defeats against Glover Teixeira & Magomed Ankalaev respectively concluding 2018 campaign with overall record 11 wins , 2 losses 1 Draw .

Ions most recent outing took place 2020 September Fight Island 3 Abu Dhabi were after battling valiantly for three rounds narrowly lost split decision Alexandre Pantoja thus bringing current total tally eighteen Wins , Five Losses One Draw across all organizations competed for throughout duration successful 14 year long professional mixed martial Arts Career thus far . Looking forward 2019 will certainly prove be another huge year cuteras evolving narrative remaining competitive landscape light heavyweight division we look ahead anticipation what lies ahead ion moving forward ufc realm beyond here await see !