UFC 324 Star Apologizes to Fans After Failing to Finish Fight as Massive Favorite

Ateba Gautier preserved his undefeated Octagon record at UFC 324, but to do so he had to go to the judges’ scorecards for just the third time in his career.

The UFC returned from a six-week break last Saturday with UFC 324, which took place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV and closed out with an interim lightweight title bout that saw Justin Gaethje outlast Paddy Pimblett in an early contender for 2026’s “Fight of the Year”.

UFC 324 ended up being an 11-fight card after the event lost two matchups very late in the week, and during the prelim action Gautier improved to 4-0 in the UFC when he took a unanimous decision over Andrey Pulayev in their middleweight bout.

Ateba Gautier Apologizes To Fans After UFC 324

While Gautier did get the job done and extend his current win streak to nine fights, “The Storm” took to social media after UFC 324 and apologized to fans for not scoring another highlight-reel knockout.

Sorry i didn’t get the finish guys. This is just the beginning.
— Ateba “The Storm” Gautier (@AtebaGautierMMA) January 25, 2026

“Sorry i didn’t get the finish guys. This is just the beginning.”

Gautier was the second biggest favorite at UFC 324 behind only Umar Nurmagomedov, who also got his hand raised via unanimous decision in the night’s featured prelim when he defeated former flyweight titleholder Deiveson Figueiredo.

"The Storm" Stopped Eight-Straight Opponents Before Latest Fight

The wide betting line came as a result of the Cameroonian’s stellar first year with the UFC in 2025, which saw Gautier make fairly short work of every opponent that he faced after earning a UFC contract by stopping the previously-undefeated Yura Naito on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2024.

The 23-year-old earned “Performance of the Night” bonuses for knockouts of Jose Medina and Robert Valentin in his first two UFC outings, the second of which saw Gautier get a little extra spotlight on the prelims for UFC 318. He failed to earn another post-fight bonus when he also stopped short-notice replacement opponent Tre’ston Vines at UFC 320, but it seems clear that the UFC has tabbed the middleweight as a potential star in the making.

Ateba Gautier (red gloves) fights Andrey Pulyaev (blue gloves) during UFC 324 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Pulyaev came into UFC 324 looking to build on the momentum of his first UFC win, which came when he stopped Nick Klein with strikes last August. Also a contract winner on Dana White’s Contender Series, the 28-year-old is now 1-2 in the UFC after he also dropped a decision to Christian Leory Duncan in his promotional debut in March.

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