5 Defining Moments: Mario Bautista

Opportunity knocks louder than ever before for Mario Bautista.

The MMA Lab representative will look to hasten his upward trajectory in the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division when he locks horns with Brazilian icon Jose Aldo in a UFC 307 showcase on Saturday at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Bautista steps back into view on the strength of a career-best six-fight winning streak. He last competed at UFC Fight Night 234, where he outpointed Ricky Simon to a unanimous decision on Jan. 13.

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As Bautista moves ever closer to his forthcoming clash with Aldo at 135 pounds, a look at five of the many moments that have come to define him:

1. No Welcome Mat

Elevation Fight Team standout Cory Sandhagen put away the promotional newcomer with an armbar in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 143 bantamweight prelim on Jan. 19, 2019 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. A late-notice substitution for the injured John Lineker, the previously undefeated Bautista bowed out 3:31 into Round 1. The two men traded leg kicks before Sandhagen floored the prospect with a sensational flying knee. Bautista scrambled to his feet, answered with a takedown and promptly wandered into an upside-down triangle choke. Sandhagen later rolled for a kimura, transitioned to the armbar and sealed the deal. It remains Bautista’s only submission defeat to date.

2. Taking Flight

Bautista disposed of former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Miles Johns with a second-round flying knee and follow-up punches as part of the UFC 247 undercard on Feb. 8, 2020 at the Toyota Center in Houston. Johns fell from the ranks of the unbeaten 1:41 into Round 2. After a tepid first round in which neither man established much of a foothold, Bautista found a gap in his opponent’s defenses. Operating in the shadows of the Jon Jones-Dominick Reyes headliner, he floored Johns with a flying knee, chased the Marathon MMA export to the canvas and cut loose with punches to prompt the stoppage.

3. Blip on the Radar

Former Pacific Xtreme Combat champion Trevin Jones took care of Bautista with punches in the second round of their UFC 259 bantamweight prelim on March 6, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Jones brought it to an emphatic close 40 seconds into Round 2, springing the upset as a 2-to-1 underdog. Bautista kept his adversary guessing for much of the first round, as the John Crouch protege countered effectively and fired off body kicks, knees and left hands with ill intent. However, Jones floored him with a right uppercut early in the second round, followed him to the canvas and sealed the deal with a series of rapid-fire hammerfists.

4. Deep Bag of Tricks

A reverse triangle armbar from Bautista sent Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Benito Lopez packing in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 214 bantamweight prelim on Nov. 5, 2022 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Lopez, who missed weight for the match by 2.5 pounds, raised the white flag 4:54 into Round 1. It was never competitive. Bautista delivered a series of blistering kicks to the lower leg, pieced together exquisite body-head combinations and pinned the Californian to the fence with punches before securing a takedown. Lopez offered even less meaningful resistance on the mat. Bautista achieved full mount on multiple occasions, applied his ground-and-pound and cinched the reverse triangle before isolating the left arm and eliciting the tapout.

5. Main-Card Worthy

Bautista waded through considerable difficulty to claim a unanimous decision over onetime Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder Da’Mon Blackshear in a featured UFC 292 attraction on Aug. 19, 2023 at TD Garden in Boston. Scores were 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28. A short-notice replacement for the injured Cody Garbrandt, Blackshear handled himself well in what was his second appearance in seven days. He struck for multiple takedowns across the first 10 minutes, stayed busy in the clinch, scored with leg kicks and even mixed in a few collar-tie elbows. To Bautista’s credit, he kept his composure under considerable duress and put together a dominant Round 3. There, he pressured a visibly fatigued Blackshear, forced him backward and followed completed takedowns by advancing to the back on more than one occasion.