Mario Bautista remained confident amid Patchy Mix’s hype pre UFC 316.
UFC 316: Mario Bautista post-fight interview
UFC 316 winner Mario Bautista spoke to MMA Junkie and reporters post-fight after his unanimous decision victory over Patchy Mix.
NEWARK, N.J. – A lot was said in the lead-up to Mario Bautista’s clash against former Bellator champion Patchy Mix, and most of it was not favorable for Bautista.
Mix (20-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who debuted for the UFC this past Saturday at UFC 316 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., had tons of hype entering the fight against Bautista (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC), as some thought he was already the best bantamweight on the planet.
Being the last Bellator bantamweight champion and having arguably the best resume outside the UFC, there were high expectations for Mix. The betting odds reflected that chatter and hype, as Bautista entered as a sizable underdog despite being the UFC veteran. Mix also had plenty to say, already angling a championship fight and saying he was “looking through” Bautista.
There was a lot of noise, but Bautista kept grounded.
“He was saying he was looking through me, but the whole time I was thinking, ‘Well, I’m going to run through you,'” Bautista said at the uFC 316 post-fight press conference. “So I don’t know. I can’t pay attention to that stuff. At the end of the day, we get in the cage and the words mean nothing. I trained hard for this fight, and that was pretty much it. I won.”
Bautista shut down Mix over the course of 15 minutes and ended up taking home a unanimous decision win, while extending his winning streak to eight in a row. The MMA Lab product thinks it’s time he gets a step-up given his body of work and wants a five-round fight against a title contender.
“I definitely want a top-five (opponent),” Bautista said. “I think if Patchy would’ve won this fight, they would’ve shot him all the way to the top, so I think I took his spot and all that hype. I definitely deserve a top-five. I’m on an eight fight win streak, and there is no one else above me with a streak like that except for the champion.”
