Chris Gruetzemacher (born June 16, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
[7][additional citation(s) needed] Gruetzemacher was a former student at Thunderbird High School where he started his wrestler training.
[9][1] He chose his professional as a fighter after decided to invest his time as an athlete in combat sport and to be part of something great in his life.
[10] He worked with the former Thailand national fight team member and multiple Muay Thai world champion, Master Kru Paul, in North Carolina to sharpen his stand up game prior finding his new training base at 2 Knuckle Sports.
[3][1] Gruetzemacher took 21 months hiatus from his torn ACL injury before he stepped back to cage where he was selected as one of the contestants for UFC The Ultimate fighter 22.
[13] Gruetzemacher was selected to be one of the contestants for the UFC TV MMA competition series The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs.
The confrontation eventually scaled down after some posturing and yelling and cooler heads prevailed with no physical fight was committed.
[26][13] He next faced Chas Skelly at UFC Fight Night: Bermudez[27] vs. Korean Zombie on February 4, 2017.
[30][27] Gruetzemacher was expected to face Martin Bravo on August 5, 2017, at UFC Fight Night: Pettis vs.
[41] However, on March 13, 2019, it was reported that Gruetzemacher was pulled from the bout due to injury and was replaced by John Makdessi.
[12] Gruetzemacher cut his signature "caveman" long hair and donated it to Wigs for Kids, a charity for children who suffer from cancer, in 2017.