Anthony Gutierrez will be looking to become a Titan FC champion in two weeks when he challenges Brett Johns for the featherweight title at Titan FC 34 in Kansas City. 
This event was initially targeted for Montreal, but the event was moved to Kansas City. The change in venue was incredible news for Gutierrez as this will be a hometown fight for him. He will be able to sleep in his own bed during fight week and will be able to drive himself to the fight on July 18.
Fighting in your hometown can have many advantages, but it also has some disadvantages. One of the disadvantages can be people constantly asking for free tickets and sometimes they may not call the fighter until fight day. In addition, a fighter can feel additional pressure by fighting in their hometown and for Gutierrez, he likes the pressure that will be on him for this fight.
“My coaches have always called me a gamer. I guess what they mean by a gamer is that I rise to the occasion,” Gutierrez told The MMA Report. “With the pressure of Brett Johns, perfect resume, and his following. I know their are a lot of eyes on him. That plus being on the stage of Fight Pass and being at home, is going to put a lot of pressure to me and I like that pressure. I am adding training sessions throughout my day that I usually would not add because I am paranoid. I am worried about how I will perform. I am worried about how I am going to act in front of my friends and family. Am I going to gas out or go numb? That stuff scares me and the pressure is good. It helps me to keep working and training hard. I like the pressure.”
Johns became the Titan FC featherweight champion when he defeated Walel Watson by submission at Titan FC 33 in March. It was his fourth career submission win and was his first fight in the United States. Earlier that night, Gutierrez scored a victory and was watching the fight between Johns and Watson. One of the things that he noticed is that Johns does not make any mistakes.
“He doesn’t make any mistakes. He is really smart and he comes prepared. He is not dangerous,” he explained. “I do not think he is an athlete. I do not think he is dynamic. I do not think he is explosive. I think he is one of those hard working guys that has his fundamentals down to a tee. He comes in shape. He is a little bit too small and too weak. His opponents in the past, in my opinion — he has definitely fought a couple of tough guys, but I think I match up well against him. Basically, here is how I think. He does not suck, but compared to me, he sucks.”
With Johns being a fighter that does not make mistakes, could patience be a big key for Gutierrez in this fight?
“Yes and no. I definitely have a perfect game plan for him that is going to involve everything. It’s going to involve me being wild and explosive. He going to involve me switching game plans and going to being really slowed and control. Letting him make the first move instead of me making the first move. I am going to be all over the place and it’s going to be calculated chaos. I am for sure going for the knockout.”
Hear more from Gutierrez on his upcoming fight on Friday’s edition of The MMA Report Live.