Ateba Gautier Has Fight Booked for UFC 332
An intriguing clash of middleweights has been added to UFC 332 in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 3rd. Cameroon’s Ateba Gautier will look to remain undefeated in the promotion when he takes on 12-fight UFC veteran Roman Kopylov.
Ateba Gautier on the rise
This booking marks the biggest step up in competition for the 24-year-old Gautier. He has been a menace inside the Octagon since earning a UFC contract in September 2024 on Dana White’s Contender Series.
In 2025, Ateba Gautier was awarded UFC Newcomer of the Year after going 3-0 with three knockouts over Jose Daniel Medina, Robert Valentin, and Tre’ston Vines.
2026 has continued to be successful for Ateba Gautier. He defeated Andrey Pulyaev by decision at UFC 324 in January before following that up with a knockout victory over Ozzy Diaz at UFC 329 in May.
The biggest knock on Gautier’s UFC run has been his lack of strength of schedule. The five fighters he has defeated in the UFC have a combined record of just 4-13 inside the promotion. Some eyebrows were also raised after Ateba Gautier failed to finish Pulyaev in January. While he did not gas out during the fight, fans began to question whether his cardio could hold up against tougher competition.
What’s undeniable, however, is Gautier’s insane one-punch power. As shown in his knockout victories, if he lands clean—specifically with his right hand—his opponents are going to sleep. The 11-1 professional has nine career knockouts, with seven of them coming in the first round.
Roman Kopylov poses a stiff challenge
Roman Kopylov represents a massive step up in competition for Gautier. Kopylov is looking to get back into the rankings and earn back-to-back victories after defeating Marco Tulio at UFC 328 in May.
Like Gautier, Kopylov is a striking-based fighter. Unlike Gautier, however, he possesses a much more diverse skill set, including dynamic kicks to complement his punches.
Kopylov struggled out of the gate when he first joined the UFC in 2019, beginning his tenure with an 0-2 record following losses to Karl Roberson and Albert Duraev.
However, Kopylov flipped the switch after those two defeats, winning four straight fights between 2022 and 2023, all by knockout. After suffering a setback against Anthony Hernandez in February 2024, Kopylov bounced back with a decision victory over Cesar Almeida in June 2024 and a head-kick knockout of Chris Curtis in January 2025.
That 6-1 stretch between 2022 and the start of 2025 paved the way for Kopylov to enter the middleweight rankings. However, his momentum was halted during the remainder of 2025, as he suffered consecutive decision losses to Paulo Costa and Gregory Rodrigues.
Another intriguing element of Kopylov’s game that could pose problems for Gautier is the fact that he fights from a southpaw stance. Kopylov does an excellent job of attacking the body with his punches, creating openings for his patented left head kick. Kopylov is allergic to boring fights and has compiled a 7-5 record in the UFC.
Looking at UFC 332
The matchup between Ateba Gautier and Roman Kopylov also marks the first confirmed fight for UFC 332 in Salt Lake City. UFC 331 in California will be headlined by Flyweight champion Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja. While unconfirmed, it’s heavily rumored that UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi will be headlined by featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and Movsar Evolve. This makes it very interesting to see who will headline in Salt Lake City.
Salt Lake City has become an annual destination for the UFC. Notably, the city sits more than 4,000 feet above sea level, making conditioning an even more important factor for fighters competing at the event.
It will be fascinating to see if Ateba Gautier can continue his ascent up the middleweight rankings when he faces the toughest test of his career on October 3rd.
