Mario Bautista isn’t getting mired in regrets however he is aware of he was simply a few strikes away from probably beating Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 321.
Regardless of being a heavy underdog heading into the struggle, Bautista gave Nurmagomedov all the pieces he may deal with throughout all three rounds, which included a nasty toehold submission within the first spherical after which scoring a knockdown within the second. Sadly, Bautista wasn’t in a position to get the end and he finally misplaced a call whereas nonetheless making an excellent account of himself in opposition to one of many prime bantamweights within the sport.
“He regarded good. He felt robust,” Bautista stated about Nurmagomedov on Tim Welch’s podcast. “Being in there, I felt like if I made some changes, I believe I may undoubtedly beat him. Nothing like loopy particular. I do know I may hold in there with him all these three rounds and defend all the pieces. It’s only a matter of profitable positions.
“If folks assume he’s probably the greatest grapplers or the perfect grappler behind Merab [Dvalishvili], I undoubtedly felt it gave me like that is one thing to shoot for. It feels so shut. I simply have to make some changes going into the subsequent one. That’s just about it.”
Whereas Nurmagomedov is certainly touted as one of many prime grapplers at 135 kilos, Bautista scrambled freed from almost each takedown and almost landed the shocking toehold submission early within the struggle.
Trying again now, Bautista isn’t certain he would have pressured Nurmagomedov to faucet out however he hoped to do sufficient injury that it will severely compromised his opponent for the rest of the struggle.
“I don’t assume these [toeholds] even damage till the final second the place it pops,” Bautista stated. “I used to be ready for it. Even with the toehold, as soon as I obtained him to roll via, I ought to have simply let go of it and ended up on prime.
“I had that factor bent. I used to be ready for it to pop. I used to be bending it proper to his butt. I hoped it will pop. I didn’t assume he would faucet however I believe if it popped, the remainder of the struggle, he’d be coping with that.”
Nurmagomedov ultimately broke free however the Bautista blasted him with a kick within the second spherical that ended up as the one knockdown within the struggle.
Replays confirmed that the glancing blow undoubtedly tagged Nurmagomedov however the shot didn’t land flush and the one-time bantamweight title challenger was in a position to bounce again reasonably rapidly.
Bautista revealed he truly adjusted his kick when he realized he caught Nurmagomedov off guard and he was presumably solely inches away from scoring a brutal knockout.
“I believe I used to be throwing a physique or head kick, I form of throw that a little bit bizarre,” Bautista defined. “It obtained a little bit bit nearer as I used to be throwing it so I used to be simply form of shoving my knee via. If I simply raised it up a little bit bit increased. Think about proper within the lips or proper on the nostril.”
The loss ended Bautista’s eight struggle win streak however he revealed that UFC chief enterprise officer Hunter Campbell approached him after the struggle to reward his efficiency whereas promising him one other good matchup when he returns to motion.
Bautista admitted he hasn’t put an excessive amount of thought into timing or attainable opponents, though he’s utterly wholesome popping out of the struggle with Nurmagomedov.
“There’s just a few folks [I could fight],” Bautista stated. “There’s Figgy [Deiveson Figueiredo] is on the market, Chito [Vera], after which we may do this [Cory] Sandhagen rematch, too. These are issues I’ve seen on-line. Nothing I’ve stated or ‘oh I need this one proper now.’”
