LAS VEGAS – Mario Bautista thinks the time is right to revisit the fight that gave him his first career defeat.
After picking up a win at UFC Fight Night 266, Bautista (17-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) called for a rematch against former UFC bantamweight title challenger Cory Sandhagen. Bautista, who submitted Vinicius Oliveira (23-4 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in the main event of Saturday’s card at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, thinks he’s evolved enough to change the outcome of a fight between the two. In their first fight in 2019, Bautista lost to Sandhagen by first-round armbar.
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“I think it goes completely different,” Bautista told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC Fight Night 266 post-fight press conference. “I’ve had so much more experience. That was, I can’t even (remember), maybe 10-12 fights ago? I’ve had a lot of experience in that time, and he’s just kind of hanging out in that spot. He just can’t break that championship spot. I think it would make for a great fight, so give me that opportunity to see where I can go.”
Bautista’s win over Oliveira got him back on track. He was coming off a unanimous decision loss to Umar Nurmagomedov in October, a defeat that snapped an impressive eight-fight unbeaten streak. Back in the win column, Bautista thinks a win over Sandhagen would get him that much-desired shot at the UFC bantamweight belt now held by Petr Yan.
“Definitely off Sandhagen, that calls for a shot at the title,” Bautista said. “I think I have a great style to beat the champ, and I’d give him a run for his money. I feel like I have to get past Sandhagen first. I lost my (UFC) debut to him, and it would just feel (wrong) if I passed him on that, so I want to get that one back.”
Bautista has fought twice in less than four months. Ideally, he’d like to take a little time off and come back to fight Sandhagen after a longer break.
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“Summertime would be nice,” Bautista said. “I just had two fights back-to-back, and this was a five-round camp, so it would be nice to catch up on some life in between this.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Mario Bautista calls for rematch vs. Cory Sandhagen
