Mario Bautista had to wait seven years but he finally got his revenge with a win over Cory Sandhagen at UFC 329 on Saturday.
After making his debut on seven days’ notice and falling to Sandhagen back in 2019, Bautista showed how much he’s improved in every facet of his game. He scored a knockdown on Sandhagen and nearly took of his opponent’s leg after Royval nearly snatched a Suloev stretch followed by a kneebar attempt.
When it was over, Bautista got the nod with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28 in his favor.
“I lost my debut against him,” Bautista said after the win. “I knew I could beat him, I just had to be prepared. It was just crazy how it turned about. Manifestation. I was trying to rip everything off. At the end of the round, I saw him walking to his corner limping. I’ll always finish strong.
“I think it says a lot about myself. I think I deserve that next shot at the title.”
Bautista scored with a couple of body kicks to open the fight but Sandhagen was quick to counter with a stiff punch that rattled the veteran bantamweight. That led to Bautista looking for a takedown as Sandhagen resisted with both fighters jockeying for position against the cage.
Bautista eventually separated and unleashed a barrage of punches with several shots getting through Sandhagen’s defense. He also connected with a well-timed left hook with Sandhagen firing back with a long jab of his own.
Another devastating series of shots from Bautista had Sandhagen backing up before a late takedown nearly led to a Suloev stretch. While Sandhagen eventually broke free, Bautista definitely had his leg in serious trouble as the round came to an end.
After the round, Sandhagen limped to his corner and he was still favoring his leg on the restart. Bautista took advantage kicking away at Sandhagen’s leg and moving side to side to make his opponent move with him.
To his credit, Sandhagen was still finding a home for some of his strikes and he wasn’t backing down. He even managed to open a small cut on the side of Bautista’s head. Sandhagen was doing just enough to stay ahead with Bautista’s output slowing down.
As the final round got started, Bautista blasted Sandhagen with a huge left hook that put the former title challenger down on the canvas. Bautista jumped down, looking for the finish but Sandhagen was quick to grab a leg to at least slow him down.
Back on the feet, Bautista was still gunning for the knockout before landing another takedown and trying to take Sandhagen’s back. Sandhagen broke free and he started marching forward because the round was definitely slipping away from him after the knockdown.
Bautista continued to outgrapple Sandhagen, scoring multiple takedowns and controlling the action on the ground. But Sandhagen eventually battled back and looked for a takedown of his own as he put Bautista on the ground for a split second.
Unfortunately it was too little, too late as the damage mounted by Bautista won him the round and ultimately the fight as he picks up arguably the biggest win of his career.
With a two fight win streak, Bautista puts himself in position for a massive fight when he competes next as he anxiously awaits bantamweight champion Petr Yan to make his return sometime later this year.
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