Mario Bautista isn’t getting mired in regrets but he knows he was just a couple of moves away from potentially beating Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 321.
Despite being a heavy underdog heading into the fight, Bautista gave Nurmagomedov everything he could handle across all three rounds, which included a nasty toehold submission in the first round and then scoring a knockdown in the second. Unfortunately, Bautista wasn’t able to get the finish and he ultimately lost a decision while still making a very good account of himself against one of the top bantamweights in the sport.
“He looked good. He felt strong,” Bautista said about Nurmagomedov on Tim Welch’s podcast. “Being in there, I felt like if I made some adjustments, I think I could definitely beat him. Nothing like crazy special. I know I could hang in there with him all those three rounds and defend everything. It’s just a matter of winning positions.
“If people think he’s one of the best grapplers or the best grappler behind Merab [Dvalishvili], I definitely felt it gave me like this is something to shoot for. It feels so close. I just need to make some adjustments going into the next one. That’s pretty much it.”
While Nurmagomedov is definitely touted as one of the top grapplers at 135 pounds, Bautista scrambled free of nearly every takedown and nearly landed the surprising toehold submission early in the fight.
Looking back now, Bautista isn’t sure he would have forced Nurmagomedov to tap out but he was hoping to do enough damage that it would severely compromised his opponent for the remainder of the fight.
“I don’t think those [toeholds] even hurt until the last second where it pops,” Bautista said. “I was waiting for it. Even with the toehold, once I got him to roll through, I should have just let go of it and ended up on top.
“I had that thing bent. I was waiting for it to pop. I was bending it right to his butt. I was hoping it would pop. I didn’t think he would tap but I think if it popped, the rest of the fight, he’d be dealing with that.”
Nurmagomedov eventually broke free but the Bautista blasted him with a kick in the second round that ended up as the only knockdown in the fight.
Replays showed that the glancing blow definitely tagged Nurmagomedov but the shot didn’t land flush and the one-time bantamweight title challenger was able to bounce back rather quickly.
Bautista revealed he actually adjusted his kick when he realized he caught Nurmagomedov off guard and he was possibly only inches away from scoring a brutal knockout.
“I think I was throwing a body or head kick, I kind of throw that a little weird,” Bautista explained. “It got a little bit closer as I was throwing it so I was just kind of shoving my knee through. If I just raised it up a little bit higher. Imagine right in the lips or right on the nose.”
The loss ended Bautista’s eight fight win streak but he revealed that UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell approached him after the fight to praise his performance while promising him another good matchup when he returns to action.
Bautista admitted he hasn’t put too much thought into timing or possible opponents, although he’s completely healthy coming out of the fight with Nurmagomedov.
“There’s a few people [I could fight],” Bautista said. “There’s Figgy [Deiveson Figueiredo] is out there, Chito [Vera], and then we could do that [Cory] Sandhagen rematch, too. Those are things I’ve seen online. Nothing I’ve said or ‘oh I want this one right now.’”
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