Athletes
Under The Radar | Mario Bautista
A 6-Fight Winning Streak Has Mario Bautista Creeping On The Radar Of The Bantamweight Top 10 If He Can Get Past A Legend In Salt Lake City
In a bantamweight division full of characters and dominant athletes, it’s not only difficult to distinguish oneself from the myriad hopeful and talented contenders outside the Top 15, it’s also a challenge to get noticed when so many eye-catching names are sucking up the oxygen. From former champions to well-established contenders to one-of-a-kind personalities, bantamweight is chock-full of traffic. It’s why someone like Mario Bautista, who is on a six-fight winning streak and generally regarded as one of the more promising fighters in the weight class, can feel like he still needs a breakout win or two before building steam toward the premier matchups in the division.
The Nevada native was thrown into the fire immediately as he made his UFC debut on short-notice against Cory Sandhagen. Although he put up a tough fight against the future interim title challenger, he eventually lost via armbar in the first round. While the result was his first professional loss, it got him into the show, and he would soon make the most of it.
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Bautista got things going properly with two bounce-back, performance bonus-winning victories, including a flying knee knockout of Miles Johns at UFC 247. He stumbled against Trevin Jones when Jones stepped in on short notice, a result which stymied his momentum and hype to that point.
The 31-year-old, already a quiet presence outside of the Octagon, made progressive and steady work of his next six opponents, collecting three submission wins and another performance bonus along the way.
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Each time out, Bautista displayed sharp, creative striking and a slick ground game that made him quite the puzzle for each opponent to solve in the Octagon. His skills continued to progress, as well, training with a gang of UFC talent at the MMA Lab under the tutelage of John Crouch.
A pair of wins over Da’Mon Blackshear and Ricky Simón cemented Bautista as a Top 15 talent. In each performance, Bautista showed off a superior skillset and resolve, even when pushed heavily, especially against Blackshear.
Those victories pushed his streak to six, and it set up a date with former featherweight king and UFC Hall of Fame member José Aldo. The Brazilian legend most recently returned from a two-year layoff to outduel Jonathan Martinez, a peer who was in a similar spot to Bautista. The 38-year-old most surprisingly looked like his same dangerous self, which makes for a fascinating test on Bautista’s radar.
At times, fighters can get caught up in the aura of an opponent who they’ve watched for years. Aldo carries that kind of reputation with him, and it’ll be up to Bautista to put any admiration to the side and get the job done. In a division now ruled over by Merab Dvalishvili, there isn’t any clear path to the belt at present.
However, taking out a marquee name like Aldo and stretching one’s winning streak to seven is certainly a way to get on the radar of the best at 135 pounds. Although Bautista likely won’t start calling people out and starting beefs online, he can speak loudly in Salt Lake City with his performance at UFC 307.
UFC 307: Pereira vs Rountree Jr., took place live from Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 5, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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