UFC Vegas 64: Mario Bautista is the fighter to watch
Mario Bautista looks to make it three straight wins at UFC Vegas 64.
Mario Bautista is fighting for the third time this calendar year and looking to make it his third straight win this Saturday in Las Vegas. Bautista is scheduled to face Team Alpha Male’s Benito Lopez. Lopez is looking for his second straight win, and for these upstart prospects, it could very well be a fight-of-the-night candidate.
Fighting out of the MMA Lab, Mario Bautista (10-2) joined the UFC in 2019 after stints with the LFA and Combate Americas, coming in with an undefeated 6-0 record. After losing his debut to former title challenger Cory Sandhagen, Bautista has gone 4-1, taking out Jin Soo Son, former LFA bantamweight champion Miles Johns, Jay Perrin, and veteran Brian Kelleher, the latter with a submission in the first round back in June.
Mario Bautista has been training with title contender Sean O’Malley for his upcoming fight
Coming into all 12 of his professional fights, Mario Bautista has had the height and reach advantage. That all changes Saturday night as he will be the slightly smaller man in the octagon. Fellow MMA Lab training partner Sean O’Malley, who is coming off the biggest win of his career against former bantamweight champion Petr Yan, was being helped by Bautista for Yan and has also been helping him get a feel for his opponent leading up to his fight.
Like Bautista, his opponent Benito “Golden Boy” Lopez entered the UFC with an undefeated record. The Bellator vet was 7-0 before winning a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series and has gone 2-1 since then, beating Albert Morales and Vince Morales, though he hasn’t fought since 2019. This is Bautista’s last fight on his current contract and would like to re-sign after a win and get a crack at a top-15 opponent next.
Pedro Munhoz on Aljamain Sterling vs. TJ Dillashaw, Sean O'Malley ranking, plus more. dark. Next