Athletes
Kris Moutinho Is Enjoying The Process
Seeking His First Win In the Octagon, Kris Moutinho ‘Left No Stone Unturned’ Ahead Of His Bout At UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs Kavanagh
You don’t fight the way Kris Moutinho fights if you don’t enjoy it. There are plenty of other ways to make a living, but when you’re someone who likes to get into a person’s face, stay there, and take a punch to give three more the other way, you must really love it. That’s what keeps someone committed through the hard times.
Moutinho’s journey is well-documented at this point. He accepted a short-notice opportunity against Sean O’Malley in 2021, losing but fighting the future champion valiantly. A second knockout loss got him cut from the roster, but Moutinho rebounded with five consecutive finishes on the regional scene. The fight game—the unforgiving beast that it is—presented him the reward of another short-notice opportunity in June 2025, this time against the then-undefeated knockout artist Malcolm Wellmaker in Wellmaker’s backyard. The opportunity was too good to let pass, but Moutinho suffered a devastating knockout loss. Maintaining one’s passion despite all those high-profile disappointments is difficult, but Moutinho found his way, and he is embracing each part of the journey heading into his bout with Cristian Quiñonez at UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs Kavanagh.
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“I came in when I was a young man; I wanted to be a UFC champion,” Moutinho told UFC.com. “Along the line, this sport got a little hard on me. I faded into myself and was kind of ready to give up, but now, I’m just excited.”
The 33-year-old speaks like the veteran he is, one with 21 professional bouts and nearly 10 years of professional experience under his belt. With his bucket still full of motivation, Moutinho went back to work with the New England Cartel to sharpen his tools and once again pursue that elusive UFC win.
Instead of dreading camp, however, Moutinho chose to approach things with more positivity. Viewing what is at times a monotonous grind as a daily blessing is a difficult practice, but a worthwhile one, and Moutinho sees the benefits opening before him.
“I’m just enjoying the process more, being more present, in the moment,” he said. “I don’t get to do this forever. I’ve already been here once and got (cut) and had to work my way back, so I’m just enjoying it, trying to embrace all the things that come with it. It’s made the camp better. It made me enjoy training a lot more. I’m just excited to go out there and get to hurt somebody, get hurt a little bit on the way, and it’s just going to be a lot of fun.”
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When it comes to hurting Quiñonez, who is seeking his first win since 2022, Moutinho would like to show off his actual skillset. Well-documented is his toughness, but the Massachusetts-native believes in his grappling and wrestling. His record says as much, with a third of his nine total finishes coming via tapout.
He also believes his pace and pressure can make the difference in the notorious altitude of Mexico City. All told, he feels everything is in place for his best performance yet.
“I just like to be a meathead and walk forward and get hit, and, ‘Oh, I’m tough,’ (but) I just gotta be a little bit smarter and implement the wrestling a little bit more, implement the grappling a little bit more here and there,” he said. “Still be able to strike and show people what I can do, but I gotta definitely throw it in there and mix it up a little bit.”
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Moutinho, being Moutinho, however, speaks about a potential bonus from the lens of a Fight of the Night rather than Performance of the Night. Again, he loves this game, and he loves getting into a slugfest, which the fans in Mexico will certainly appreciate.
Whether they do or don’t doesn’t matter as much to Moutinho. He is just enjoying his day as he will enjoy each day leading up to February 28. Then, it’s time to fight. Then, it’s time to get his hand raised in the Octagon for the first time.
“I’m ready to do what I gotta do,” he said. “I’m really enjoying this again. I’m enjoying this moment, and I’m enjoying this process. It’d just mean the world to me (to win).”
UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs Kavanagh took place live from Arena CDMX in Mexico City on February 28, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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