Mario Bautista
USA
Gets revenge on Cory Sandhagen
Bautista defeated Cory Sandhagen via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) at UFC 329 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
Bautista gets some measure of revenge on Sandhagen, who defeated him via first-round submission when the two first met back in January 2019. Truthfully, this result was more difficult than it had to be for Mario. Sandhagen was clearly compromised following a submission attempt from Bautista in the dying seconds of Round 1. Mario stood around and did next to nothing in Round 2, allowing his opponent, who was essentially competing on one leg, to get back in the fight. Thankfully for Bautista, he was able to find a knockdown early in the final frame which allowed him to grind his way to the finish line with a clear cut decision victory. Mario is 11-1 in his past dozen fights with his lone setback during that stretch coming against a legitimate top-tier opponent in Umar Nurmagomedov. Bautista is a real contender at 135 pounds.
Bautista gets some measure of revenge on Sandhagen, who defeated him via first-round submission when the two first met back in January 2019. Truthfully, this result was more difficult than it had to be for Mario. Sandhagen was clearly compromised following a submission attempt from Bautista in the dying seconds of Round 1. Mario stood around and did next to nothing in Round 2, allowing his opponent, who was essentially competing on one leg, to get back in the fight. Thankfully for Bautista, he was able to find a knockdown early in the final frame which allowed him to grind his way to the finish line with a clear cut decision victory. Mario is 11-1 in his past dozen fights with his lone setback during that stretch coming against a legitimate top-tier opponent in Umar Nurmagomedov. Bautista is a real contender at 135 pounds.
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Scheduled against Sandhagen
Bautista will fight fellow bantamweight Cory Sandhagen at UFC 329 in Las Vegas on July 11, according to Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl.
ANALYSIS
By defeating Sandhagen, Bautista can become one of the UFC's top-five bantamweight contenders. Sandhagen is a staple in the division, with two championship fights to back him up. Bautista himself has continued to rise, with a 9-1 record across his last 10 fights.
By defeating Sandhagen, Bautista can become one of the UFC's top-five bantamweight contenders. Sandhagen is a staple in the division, with two championship fights to back him up. Bautista himself has continued to rise, with a 9-1 record across his last 10 fights.
Dominant in return to win colum
Bautista defeated Vinicius Oliveira via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:46 of Round 2 at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
Bautista saw his eight-fight winning streak snapped against a top contender in Umar Nurmagomedov last October. He got right back to work here against a guy that has been flying up the rankings in Oliveira and dominated the entire way. Perhaps looking to exploit a hole, or seeing the fact his opponent was totally exhausted essentially the second the opening bell rang, Bautista leaned on his wrestling game throughout. He landed 5-of-7 takedown attempts for 5:47 worth of control time and easily controlled the action on the mat. It was a flawless effort that would go on to earn him a $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus. Bautista spent his post-fight interviewing calling out Cory Sandhagen, a guy who doesn't have opponents lining up to face him. It makes some sense. The two fought way back in January 2019, Bautista's UFC debut, with Sandhagen winning via first-round submission. Running it back sounds like a great idea.
Bautista saw his eight-fight winning streak snapped against a top contender in Umar Nurmagomedov last October. He got right back to work here against a guy that has been flying up the rankings in Oliveira and dominated the entire way. Perhaps looking to exploit a hole, or seeing the fact his opponent was totally exhausted essentially the second the opening bell rang, Bautista leaned on his wrestling game throughout. He landed 5-of-7 takedown attempts for 5:47 worth of control time and easily controlled the action on the mat. It was a flawless effort that would go on to earn him a $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus. Bautista spent his post-fight interviewing calling out Cory Sandhagen, a guy who doesn't have opponents lining up to face him. It makes some sense. The two fought way back in January 2019, Bautista's UFC debut, with Sandhagen winning via first-round submission. Running it back sounds like a great idea.
Fighting Oliveira in February
Bautista will fight Vinicius Oliveira at UFC Vegas 113 on Feb. 7, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
Bautista's eight-fight win streak came to an end with a defeat against Umar Nurmagomedov in October. The former will now aim to start up a new streak, though that will require handing Oliveira his first loss in the UFC.
Bautista's eight-fight win streak came to an end with a defeat against Umar Nurmagomedov in October. The former will now aim to start up a new streak, though that will require handing Oliveira his first loss in the UFC.
Winning streak snapped at eight
Bautista lost to Umar Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision (27-30, 27-30, 27-30) at UFC 321 on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.
ANALYSIS
Bautista found himself a +480 underdog, largest on the entire card, despite the fact he entered on an eight-fight winning streak. The pessimism turned out to be completely justified considering how much he struggled with the all-world grappling game of Nurmagomedov. Mario was responsible for the biggest moment of the fight after dropping Umar with a perfectly placed knee in Round 2, but Nurmagomedov got right back up and went right back to his wrestling. All told, Bautista allowed 11 takedowns on 14 attempts. Mario is about as dangerous as any bantamweight in the game on the feet, but there's a huge gap on the mat between him and the best in the world at 135 pounds.
Bautista found himself a +480 underdog, largest on the entire card, despite the fact he entered on an eight-fight winning streak. The pessimism turned out to be completely justified considering how much he struggled with the all-world grappling game of Nurmagomedov. Mario was responsible for the biggest moment of the fight after dropping Umar with a perfectly placed knee in Round 2, but Nurmagomedov got right back up and went right back to his wrestling. All told, Bautista allowed 11 takedowns on 14 attempts. Mario is about as dangerous as any bantamweight in the game on the feet, but there's a huge gap on the mat between him and the best in the world at 135 pounds.
Fight booked for UFC 321
Bautista is set to fight Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 25, MMAFighting.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Bautista finds himself in the cross hairs of Nurmagomedov, who will be seeking redemption after falling to Merab Dvalishvili in his last bought at UFC 311 in January. However, Bautista has been performing at a high level of late, winning each of his last eight fights dating back to February of 2022.
Bautista finds himself in the cross hairs of Nurmagomedov, who will be seeking redemption after falling to Merab Dvalishvili in his last bought at UFC 311 in January. However, Bautista has been performing at a high level of late, winning each of his last eight fights dating back to February of 2022.