Mario Bautista plans on bringing the warmth in opposition to Umar Nurmagomedov.
After putting on an exceptional showing in opposition to former Bellator star Patchy Combine in June, Bautista will step again contained in the Octagon at UFC 321 for his hardest take a look at but in opposition to Nurmagomedov.
With a win over the cousin of UFC Corridor of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov, Bautista might launch himself from the eighth-ranked bantamweight fighter on the planet to No. 2, probably solidifying himself a shot in opposition to the winner of next month’s 135-pound title tilt between Merab Dvalishvili and Cory Sandhagen.
Looking forward to their extremely anticipated conflict, Bautista is nicely conscious of the stakes at play and simply how tough will probably be to stroll away with a win over somebody as harmful as Nurmagomedov.
“I feel Umar and Khabib and people guys are going, ‘Maintain on a second. Do we now have a cardio machine like Mario Bautista?’ What I did to Patchy Combine, it was nonstop important strikes all three rounds,” Bautista informed MMA Junkie. “So, we all know you are able to do that.”
“Your subsequent combat is at all times going to be your hardest combat. You need to have that mindset. It doesn’t get simpler. I’ve by no means had that mindset. Evaluating him to the opposite guys, it’s only a completely different problem. I’ve fought some good grapplers… however it is a little bit extra of a high-profile one.”
Whereas Bautista rides into Abu Dhabi on a 12-fight win streak, Nurmagomedov will look to bounce again after suffering the first loss of his career.
Nurmagomedov got here up brief in his bid to dethrone Merab Dvalishvili, surrendering a unanimous determination to the Georgian titleholder. With a win over Bautista at UFC 321, he’ll not solely climb again into the win column, however he’ll additionally re-establish himself as a authentic contender in MMA’s most talent-rich division.
