Mario Bautista knows what he’s gotta do to beat a legend in Jose Aldo.
An Opportunity Like No Other
It wasn’t the fight the #13-ranked UFC Bantamweight contender was expecting, but it’s one he’s happily accepted for UFC 307 on Oct. 5 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Bautista enters the biggest fight of his career thus far on an impressive six-fight win streak, having defeated promotional veteran Ricky Simon by decision in January.
Following his latest win, Arizona’s Bautista had been hunting for a fight with top contender Rob Font before the opportunity of a lifetime came about with former featherweight champ Aldo, that has him even more stoked.
“Definitely a win over Aldo is better than than Rob Font,” Bautista told Middle Easy. “It’s a tougher fight, too. Everything that Aldo’s done through this sport, and he’s still trying to do it, you know? A win over him definitely shoots me up there and puts a little bit more shine on me.
“Luckily, they gave me that fight, and I was super pumped for it, super excited. I just feel like I got a good retry or redemption since my last fight, before Ricky [Simon] with Cody Garbrandt. That fell through, so now I have another opportunity.”
Bautista had been booked against former champ Cody Garbrandt in August of last year with Garbrandt having to withdraw due to injury.
Bautista Says Aldo Could Have Went A Whole Different Route Than Him
Already a UFC Hall-of-Famer, Aldo recently came out of MMA retirement in May, defeating a younger, ranked prospect like Bautista in Jonathan Martinez at UFC 301. Aldo had taken two years off prior to the fight to focus on boxing among other things, but the Brazilian didn’t seem to skip a beat in his return to the Octagon.
This being the last fight of his contract, Aldo, 37, eventually re-signed with the UFC as did Martinez, who says he signed a new five-fight deal with the promotion upon getting the Aldo matchup.
“I have the second-most straight wins behind Merab [Dvalishvili]… so, it’s nice that they’re seeing that, and they actually gave me that opportunity because it’s Aldo,” Martinez said. “He could have went a whole different route in saying, ‘No, no, I’m not gonna fight these young guys… I’m gonna fight someone like Dominick Cruz, I’m gonna fight a Henry Cejudo….’ you know, those opportunities. So, for me to get this fight, I’m super excited about it.”
“I Think He Can Crack Mentally,” Bautista Assesses Aldo
There are only a handful of fighters that can lay claim to a victory over Aldo with five of his eight career losses coming to former UFC Champions Conor McGregor, Max Holloway, Alexander Volkanovski and Petr Yan.
While Aldo looks to be hitting a new stride in his career, winning four of his last five fights in the UFC, Bautista doesn’t believe Aldo to be untouchable, taking notes from his previous defeats to establish a game-plan that will work for him, come October.
“I just see it being a high paced fight,” Bautista said of fighting Aldo. “He’s hard to finish, but I think he can crack mentally. So, all those losses he’s had recently, those guys put a high pace on him, and that’s something I gotta emulate.”
Merab Dvalishvili is the latest fighter to beat Jose Aldo at UFC 278 in 2022. Dvalishvili went 0 for 16 takedown attempts but his pace and pressure was enough to win the fight by unanimous decision. Other fighters like Max Holloway and Petr Yan have put the pressure on Aldo as well, winning their fights with relentless ground and pound on Aldo after several rounds of action.
We’ll see if Mario Bautista can do something similar when he meets Jose Aldo at elevation in Salt Lake City.
