Preview: UFC 292 ‘Sterling vs. O’Malley’

Bantamweights

Da’Mon Blackshear (14-5-1, 2-1-1 UFC) vs. Mario Bautista (12-2, 6-2 UFC)

ODDS: N/A

It speaks to the depth of the UFC’s bantamweight division that someone like Bautista has remained under the radar. Initially thrown into the deep end for a late-notice debut against Cory Sandhagen in 2019, Bautista was building a bit of momentum up until a sudden knockout loss to Trevin Jones in 2021. From there, Bautista was a bit of a forgotten man as he took about a year off to retool, but he has come back in much better form with much smarter and well-rounded aggression, running through his opposition as a result. Bautista picks his spots well and is quite capable of turning an opportunity into a finish, so after a run of three first-round stoppage victories, the question became when the UFC was going to pull the trigger and give Bautista a big fight. That was supposed to come in this spot in a quite winnable matchup against former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt, but Bautista will instead face a late replacement in Blackshear, who is looking to capitalize on some newfound momentum.

Blackshear came to the UFC in 2022 as a fun but flawed prospect, leaning on his wrestling and grappling in a way that tended to create a bunch of opportunities for both fighters. In a sense, it felt about right that his UFC debut against Youssef Zalal ended in a draw after a back-and-forth fight. After dropping his sophomore bout to Farid Basharat in March, “Da Monster” has looked impressively sharp in his last two outings, earning some notice by scoring just the third twister submission in UFC history over Jose Johnson on Aug. 12. Blackshear is certainly striking while the iron is hot by attempting to string together two wins in just seven days, and this should be an entertaining pairing, provided Blackshear can make the turnaround in something approaching peak form. With that said, Bautista is the type of opponent who can take the initiative against Blackshear and neutralize him on the mat. Add in the turnaround for Blackshear, and Bautista should be able to wear him out. The pick is Bautista via third-round stoppage.

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Sterling vs. O’Malley
Zhang vs. Lemos
Garry vs. Magny
Blackshear vs. Bautista
Vera vs. Munhoz
The Prelims