In the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a new bantamweight fighter could begin his road to stardom with Mario Bautista going up against the UFC Hall of Famer, Jose Aldo at UFC 307.
Bautista (31) is coming off a six-fight winning streak and his upcoming bout against Aldo will be his first high-profile match-up which gives him a chance to break into the top 10 rankings of the bantamweight division.
Born in Nevada, he represents the new generation of fighters who tend to have a background covering the three major facets (striking, wrestling and grappling) that every MMA fighter should be well-versed in.
He represents a complete package when it comes to experience in the three major disciplines. He trained in boxing during his younger years which was followed by wrestling in high school where he trained for four years and to top it all off, he also trained in jiu-jitsu for two years at his hometown.
The work put behind the scenes has also been reflected in his record in the UFC. He has shown that he can get the victory by all three methods, knockout, submission and the decision. His record would rather suggest that he is one to take the fight deep, a stark contrast to Aldo who is known for his quick finishes.
Bautista reckons that he might not be the Aldo of old, but he still proves to be a threat, especially in the first two rounds which is where he will have to remain wary.
“It’s not the Aldo that was on that 10-year unbeaten streak. But that’s not to say that he’s still not dangerous. I think he’s still going to be good for those first and second rounds. He’s still that Aldo. So, I’m fully prepared for him. I’m still preparing for the prime Aldo the best I can,” Bautista shared.
With age on his side, he reckons that would be his biggest advantage that being in the prime of his career will allow him to push his body to the limits far more than his opponent.
“I know people say he’s fast, but I think he’s fast until he gets tired, you know, and unfortunately, you know, with age, you just don’t have that, that cardio that you used to have. I’ve been a lot of around a lot of veterans in my gym. This is like 10 years, I’ve been doing this, and I’ve seen fighters, kind of get to that age and I get to see what happened. So, I have a good understanding of like what happens when you get to that age and it’s just about pushing that pace, setting a high output and that’s how I get it done,” he commented.
In addition to this, Bautista also suggested that while Aldo might have a lot of tools in his arsenal, he tends to use just a few of them, which is primarily his striking abilities.
“I don’t think I’m the only one that’s well-rounded. And that’s just like with Aldo, I think he has a bunch of tools, but he only uses, a few. He’s more of a striker. He’s not going to be shooting double legs and trying to ride you like Khabib or anything like that. So, it’s just going to be a style versus kind of style and, you know, an old age versus new age,” he shared.
Bautista’s upcoming bout will be an exciting one as he gets to go up against one of the big-name stars who was at the forefront of MMA during its formative years.
“It’s awesome, that he’s like stuck around this long because I remember watching him, right when I was like probably still coming out of high school. So, it’s cool that he’s still around and I have this opportunity, to fight him and test my skills against him,” he added.
With a win likely pushing Bautista up into the top 10 rankings, he backs his all-around abilities to help him keep up with the competition among the top brass of MMA fighters in the division and reckons that he can prepare for each opponent accordingly.
“I think I stack up well. Like we were saying about being well-rounded, I think I can go into each camp and each of these guys and adjust accordingly to what I need to do to get the job done. If I got to take you down, then I’ll do that if I’m going to be fighting Ricky Simone, and I got a defend takedown if I’ll do that. So, I think that’s a great thing. I’m able to adjust and I got a great team behind me that can help me with those adjustments and prepare me,” he concluded.
Sony Sports Network is the official broadcaster of UFC in India.
Watch UFC 307 – Pereira vs Rountree Jr. LIVE on Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD & HD (Tamil & Telugu) on October 6, 2024 from 7:30 AM.