Chris Gutierrez knows he has to fight “smart” against “dangerous” Pedro Munhoz at UFC Kansas City

Chris Gutierrez was hoping he’d get a top-10 opponent next and that is exactly what happened.

Back in November, Gutierrez picked up the biggest win of his career as he knocked out Frankie Edgar in the former UFC champ’s retirement fight. After the win, Gutierrez wasn’t sure who would be next but was happy when he was offered Pedro Munhoz at UFC Kansas City.

“I mean, we knew he was a possibility. We knew his name could come up, but at this point, you can’t pick and choose,” Gutierrez said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “Whatever name comes up I was going to take.”

Although Munhoz is coming off the No Contest against Sean O’Malley and before that, lost back-to-back fights to Dominick Cruz and Jose Aldo, Gutierrez knows the Brazilian is still dangerous. The Factory X product believes Munhoz can beat and finish anyone at bantamweight so he has to be cautious of that at UFC Kansas City.

“The last couple of fights haven’t gone his way and the last one with Sean O’Malley we really didn’t get to see anything,” Gutierrez added. “With that, I know he is still a dangerous fighter and I still have to approach it with caution and respect.”

Even though Chris Gutierrez thinks Pedro Munhoz is dangerous at any moment, he believes he has all the tools to get the win on Saturday. He believes his speed and kicks will play a big role in him picking up one of the biggest wins of his career.

“That’s fine, he won’t know what I’m going to do either until we are in there,” Gutierrez said. “That is what a fight is, the fear of the unknown… I want to win, that is how I see it, me winning any way I can. I just have to be smart and approach it as I do all my fights. This fight is as important as all my last fights so everything has led to mold me to get to where I am at.”

Should Gutierrez beat Munhoz on Saturday, he isn’t sure who would be next for him. Instead, he knows it would put him in the top 10 and set him up for some big fights but before any of that can happen, he will need to win on Saturday.

“It puts me where he is at, so if he’s number nine, a win over him puts me at number nine… I have to take care of business on April 15 so the only person I’m thinking about is Pedro Munhoz,” Gutierrez said.

Do you think Chris Gutierrez will beat Pedro Munhoz at UFC Kansas City?