Making a debut in the main card featuring a headlining clash between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier is the best possible thing a fighter could ask for.
One reporter asked Kris Moutinho if he plans to end up like Conor McGregor, who started out broke and reached the pinnacle of MMA.
“I wasn’t broke,” Moutinho said. “I had a job where I was working 80 hours a week and literally this beginning of June, I decided I’m done with this.”
That turned out be a huge decision for him as he went toe to toe with O’Malley for three rounds until referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the bout.
Following the fight, UFC President Dana White awarded Moutinho a 75k bonus for his performance in the “fight of the night.”
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When another reporter asked what job he was doing, Moutinho replied, “I was working in a paint factory. I just ran a line, filled paint cans. Made okay money. But it’s not what I love. My goal in life is whether I make less money or make more money, my goal is to do something I love for the rest of life.”
He added, “The only thing I have ever been happy with is fighting and training.”
Moutinho is a 28-year-old from Milford, Massachusetts who made his professional debut with CES MMA against Matthew Maldonado in September 2016 at CES MMA 38.