Mario Bautista is aiming for a top-five opponent following his systematic defeat of UFC newcomer Patchy Mix.
Returning to the Octagon at UFC 316 in New Jersey, Bautista scored his eighth straight victory with a dominant display against the former Bellator titleholder.
Speaking with James Lynch in a MiddleEasy exclusive interview, Bautista offered some insight into what could be next for him, including a potential clash with the bantamweight division’s No. 2 ranked contender, Umar Nurmagomedov.
“I definitely want a top-five fight or something really close,” Bautista said. “I want that Umar fight. I like [Figueiredo] if his knee turns out to be alright by the end of the year, but ideally just someone in the top five that can get me closer to that title shot.”
Nurmagomedov last competed in January, coming up short against reigning 135-pound titleholder Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311.
Asked specifically about fighting Khabib’s cousin next, Mario Baustia believes his well-rounded skill set and Merab-like cardio could hand the Dagestani a second straight loss on MMA’s biggest stage.
“I like it. I think Merab [Dvalishvili] gave a good blueprint for that,” Bautista said. “You gotta have good cardio and just keep pushing the pace on him and win moments. I would love that fight. I think I have great striking, great grappling, and a lot would be tested on my behalf. It’s just exciting to me. I would love to get that fight and break Umar.”
Interestingly, Dana White suggested during his UFC 316 post-fight press conference that Nurmagomedov could very well be in line for another shot at Dvalishvili’s bantamweight gold despite being handily beaten by ‘The Machine’ at the beginning of the year.
It was a confusing statement considering Nurmagomedov has not fought since losing his ‘O’ to Dvalishvili. Adding to the bewilderment was the fact that Nurmagomedov actually moved up a spot in the rankings following Saturday’s pay-per-view event in The Garden State despite coming off a loss and having not competed in six months.
“Yeah, it’s getting a little weird,” Bautista said of White’s comments about Nurmagomedov. “[Cory] Sandhagen’s probably gonna fight for the title. And then the rankings come out this morning, and somehow Umar moves up to two, and then I just move up one spot, which is crazy because I’m on an eight-fight win streak. That’s the third-longest win streak in the history of the UFC bantamweight division and second as far as being active, with the only guy ahead of me being Merab. And I’m over here sitting at number nine.
“Everybody ahead of me is on two-fight win streaks or maybe just lost. It’s weird. I guess winning fights just doesn’t really get you to the top.”
Mario Bautista Would Like to See Sean O’Malley vs. Henry Cejudo Next
While what’s next for Merab Dvalishvili is still up in the air, we can all agree that it won’t be Sean O’Malley again.
‘The Machine’ went two-up on ‘Sugar’ at UFC 316, submitting the ex-titleholder to retain his bantamweight belt and send O’Malley to the back of the line.
“He looked good,” Bautista said when asked about Dvalishvili’s performance against O’Malley in the rematch. “The whole time I was thinking, if you’re going to fight Merab, he’s just going to keep coming. He may not hurt you, he may not submit you, but my mind definitely changed after that fight. So he’s getting back on top of his great cardio and relentless pressure. He’s adding submissions to it now. It makes him more exciting.
“It was a good fight. Sad for Sean, but what can you do?”
Immediately following O’Malley’s second loss to the Georgian, former champ-champ Henry Cejudo called for a long-awaited clash with the colorful fan favorite.
Mario Bautista believes that this could be the perfect fight to get O’Malley back in the good graces of fight fans and put himself right back into title talks.
“That would be a fun one,” Bautista said. “Henry is a great wrestler, but he does not have the pressure and the relentlessness of Merab, so I think it would be great for Sean. And with Sean coming off back-to-back camps of fighting Merab, I think he’d be well-prepared for Henry. Hopefully, he’d knock him out and make everyone happy.”
Check out the full exclusive interview below:
