Ateba Gautier smokes Jose Medina with brutal knee

Ateba Gautier, welcome to the UFC.

In the UFC on ESPN 64 featured prelim Saturday at CDMX Arena in Mexico City, Gautier (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) blasted Jose Daniel Medina (11-4 MMA, 0-2) with a brutal knee knockout that ended the fight at 3:32 of Round 1.

While Medina was all smiles, including when Gautier tagged him in one of the first (and only) exchanges, Gautier remained zoned in. He backed Medina against the fence and eventually blasted him with a perfectly-timed standing knee.

A finish in his UFC debut for Ateba Gautier 🔥 #UFCMexico pic.twitter.com/gM88Z2zdqS

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 29, 2025

Cameroon’s Gautier has a successful promotional debut after a similarly violent UFC contract-earning knockout of Yura Naito on Dana White’s Contender Series in September.

Bolivia’s Medina falls into a three-fight skid. Despite a loss on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2023, the UFC CEO liked Medina’s heart and signed him to a contract anyway. He then lost his UFC debut to Zach Reese in August.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 64 results include:

• Ateba Gautier def. Jose Daniel Medina via knockout (knee) – Round 1, 3:32
• Melquizael Costa def. Christian Rodriguez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Loopy Godinez def. Julia Polastri via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Rafa Garcia def. Vinc Pichel via unanimous decision (30-37, 30-37, 29-28)
• Jamall Emmers def. Gabriel Miranda via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:06
• MarQuel Mederos def. Austin Hubbard via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 64.