For a fan-favorite fighter like Ateba Gautier, spending his hard-earned money on luxuries wouldn’t feel out of place. Most UFC fighters splurge on lavish goods after becoming famous. But before the Cameroonian powerhouse makes the walk against Roman Kopylov this weekend at UFC 332, he disclosed using his paycheck to help his ailing mother.  

During a recent interview with Full Violence, Gautier made the emotional admission that he has been buying his mother’s costly medicine with his UFC earnings.

“My mom’s medicine, yeah, expensive,” Gautier said. “My mother’s medicine, yeah. Now I can take care of her. You know, when you love someone, you give them, you know. It’s not like a mission. For me, it’s like, good to see them happy.

“If I can make them happy by buying them things, you know, for me, it would always be good to do that. If God blesses me, that’s me. He didn’t just bless me. He blesses everybody around me. I’m like just an object that God uses to bless other people. That’s it.” 

This is the first time Gautier has disclosed the situation of his ailing mother. But despite the Cameroonian revealing that his mother has a concerning health condition, he chose not to reveal the specifics.

There isn’t much information about his family. However, in a Q&A session with the UFC, Gautier revealed that his mother still lives in Cameroon with his large family of brothers while he pursues his career in MMA.

As of now, we have no idea how much Gautier earns in the UFC. He is currently unranked, but an up-and-comer like him can bag $40-50K per fight under the UFC’s show-and-win contract. Still, Gautier earned two bonuses last year for knocking out Robert Valentin and Jose Medina under the ESPN banner, and that makes up $100K for him, $50K each.

Looking at the numbers, it seems Gautier is doing fine providing for his family, with a bright future ahead of him. However, shedding more light on their relationship, the Cameroonian fighter revealed his mother wanted him to earn a degree, which he ended up pursuing before earning money as an MMA fighter.

“I always used to fight, but not like proper fight,” Gautier said at the UFC 318 presser. “I always used to fight in the street in my country. For me it was normal. I wanted to fight, but my mom was like, you can’t fight if you don’t get degrees. So that’s why I went to uni. I did physics just to make her like, ok, I’m smart, but fighting for me is for like stupid people. I’m smart, but I want to fight. I just enjoy it.”    

That shows Gautier shares a deep bond with his mother. But when it comes to helping a sick mother, the Cameroonian knockout artist isn’t alone.  

Sean Sharaf dedicated UFC 331 post-fight bonus to his mother  

Before Ateba Gautier admitted to helping his mother with his UFC money, heavyweight sensation Sean Sharaf made a similar revelation that grabbed headlines for doing the same. At UFC 331 in California, Sharaf pulled off the fastest knockout in the 265-pound division by flatlining Gable Steveson in 12 seconds.

Sharaf opened up about his existing $600K debt before the event, which he wanted to pay off. But instead of clearing his debt, the Palestinian-American aimed to support his asthma-ridden mother with the bonus money.

“She wanted to come, but the last one [fight] I was all busted up and worried about it,” Sharaf said in the backstage interview. “She’s got asthma, she’s got a pacemaker, she’s got so many health problems, she has sciatica right now. I just want to help her retire, so I am really hoping to get a bonus so that I can give that to her and take some time off work, it would be great.”

After this very touching plea, the UFC did provide him a $100K performance bonus. Plus, Sharaf also received an additional $50K from the Paramount+ Mobland show bonus, and Dana White matched it with another $50K, which made the total $200K for knocking out Jon Jones’ protege.

As Ateba Gautier takes a big step up in competition against Roman Kopylov, it will be interesting to see whether he actually earns another bonus to help his mother. With that motivation behind him, Gautier would definitely push for it.