Mario Bautista knows he will have his hands full when he takes on Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 321.
Bautista will face Nurmagomedov in a pivotal bantamweight bout on Saturday. After his win over Patchy Mix, Bautista called for a big fight, so he wasn’t surprised to get Nurmagomedov in a No. 1 fight.
“I definitely hoped so,” Bautista said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “I called a few times about this winning streak that I didn’t get. But it got to the point where you couldn’t actually deny me anything anymore. Everyone was also fully booked, so Umar was the only one who felt like it. It would also be the fastest way to the top.”
When the UFC first attempted to enter the fight, it was scheduled to headline UFC Vancouver. But the fight was moved to UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi to add another high-profile bout to the pay-per-view card.
Although Bautista is entering enemy territory, he plans to win over the fans and prevent the judges from getting involved.
“Certainly, I was concerned about it. I heard that a committee from here manages everything there,” Bautista said. “But it’s the crowd you have to worry about. I’m not too worried about that though. I want to fight the best I can and win over these fans. If it goes that far, I want it to be convincing, with no ifs, ands, or buts about who won. I’m going out to win, I’m going out to finish, and that’s all I can do.”
Mario Bautista heads into UFC 321 with confidence
Even though Mario Bautista is the biggest underdog UFC321he has complete confidence in himself. Bautista believes he has all the tools to beat Nurmagomedov and get the win.
“It’s going to include everything from my striking, to my wrestling, to getting the clinch. It’s going to be a fun fight, I’m really looking forward to it,” Bautista said.
If Bautista wins, he knows he will get the next title shot and expects that to happen sometime in early 2026.
“I would think so. That’s up to them. If he wants to go, I’ll have to be ready,” Bautista concluded.
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