Chris Mucinho returned to the UFC on Saturday after becoming a viral sensation in 2021 and accepted the opportunity to receive a brief notification against Sean O’Malley in the wild scrap that won the Night’s Battle of Honor. Sadly, he was released from the UFC roster after losing that fight and dropping another one eight months later to Guido Cannetti.
While he was hugged and worshipped in his fan-friendly style in his cage, the now 32-year-old bantamweight was in a very dark place in his personal life.
“I had a really bad time in relationships. Everything else in my life, I was just confused,” Mutinho said in UFC Atlanta’s Media Day. “I finished this, finished it all, and it was very close to it being over.
“I don’t want to talk about it much, but it was a bad time. It was one of the worst times in my life. The girl I’m with now, my beautiful girlfriend, she saved me.
He certainly appreciates having had the opportunity to compete in the UFC before, but admits that Mutinho was probably not in the right head space to find success during his short stint in the promotion.
Following the exit, Moutinho pressed the reset button and began shattering again on the regional circuit, eventually earning five wins with four finishes. He wasn’t necessarily going back to the UFC on drums, but when the call came, he quickly accepted the opportunity to return on Saturday in a fight with top prospect Malcolm Wellmaker.
“I feel like I’m where God put me. “I feel like this is the guy who should be here in 2021. People who are mentally focused are enjoying this kind of thing again.
“And then I was just moving and happy to be here, but I was happy to be here. I don’t have much anymore. I don’t care. I’m coming to kill him.
Moutinho’s relationship with Combat Sports has also changed dramatically over the past few years, and he believes it will be shown by the octagon of his return.
Moutinho says he was only interested in holding shows in both his previous fights in the UFC, but those memorable wars ultimately ended with consecutive losses. Now he plans to fix it with his performance against Wellmaker, but he still tends to go on a super encouragement fight.
“The 12, 13 years of this sport I’ve been playing has taken a lot away from me,” Mutinho said. “I don’t really care about this sport, but I don’t really care about what I’m doing. It somehow freed me to be there and to have more fun when I was training and fighting. It went back to what I did when I started something like this.
“I was a little too crazy punch and wanted to throw a punch and hit the punch. It was a bit fun. It didn’t work when I was here last time. I opened the game a bit and worked on the flaws from last time.
Oddly, Moutinho’s return to the UFC is almost a carbon copy of his first fight with the promotion.
As long as he appreciates the love he gained after his battle with O’Malley four years ago, Mutinho expects a rather different outcome this time.
“It’s a bit of a deja vu,” Mutinho said. “The last time it happened is pretty much the same. I’m fighting a good, creepy striker with a nine-day notification. It’s pretty similar. I’m a different person back then. I’m much older and hopefully it’s a better show wherever I am in myself and in life.
“I think Malcolm is a great fighter. He’s 9-0 for a reason. He’s a powerful guy and has power with both hands. He tries to change a lot. He can do something completely different. Do what I should.”
With a stoic focused on his face when he kicks off the week of fight, Mutinho doesn’t take for granted that he’s getting a second chance at first impressions, but in many ways he feels this is a real introduction to the UFC.
He may boast a 0-2 record in the promotion, but Mutinho expects himself to show a very different side when he clashes with Wellmaker on Saturday.
“You’re in my way, so I have to put you there. That’s the only way,” Mutinho said of his upcoming fight. “I’ve been telling myself this, I can’t avoid it. My time is inevitable. I’m here for a reason. The reason is back. It won’t stop me.”