Tag: Mario Bautista

Mario Bautista hopes he gets Cory Sandhagen rematch before fighting for UFC title

Mario Bautista would love to cross paths with Cory Sandhagen again en route to a UFC title shot.

[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag] would love to cross paths with [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] again en route to a UFC title shot.

Bautista (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) notched his sixth win in a row when he defeated Ricky Simon by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 234. With the aim of breaking into the UFC’s top 10 bantamweight rankings, the 30-year-old called out Rob Font.

Sandhagen is on the cusp of title contention, and Bautista knows he’s not quite there yet. Bautista lost his UFC debut on short notice to Sandhagen in 2019 and relishes the opportunity to someday avenge that loss.

“I definitely want to fight Cory Sandhagen before I fight for the title,” Bautista told MMA Junkie Radio. “That’s another one I want to get back for sure. But, like I said, I have to work my way up, and I would have to feel right about asking for that.”

Bautista, who’s also ready to fight the likes of Henry Cejudo and Merab Dvalishvili, knows he isn’t in a position to be campaigning for those fights. However, it’s not a matter of competition.

“It’s just that they’re bigger stars,” Bautista explained. “Just for promotion-wise, I think it would be hard to sell those fights. Fight-wise, all the fighters would think those are awesome fights and would watch it no matter what. So, I think a great story would be against Sandhagen. I lost my debut against him, so for me to work all that way straight back to him at the top, I think that would be a great selling point.”

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USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, Jan. 16: Mario Bautista makes notable climb

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC Fight Night 234 in Las Vegas.

The first UFC event of 2024 is in the books and while there weren’t a ton of contender fights featured, the card proved impactful for one bantamweight.

At UFC Fight Night 234, [autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag] defeated Ricky Simon by unanimous decision for arguably the biggest victory of his professional career. In doing so, he elevates to No. 11 in the USA Today Sports/MMA Junkie bantamweight rankings.

UFC flyweight [autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag] also enters the USA Today Sports/MMA Junkie flyweight rankings rankings as an honorable mention for the first time, thanks to his impressive TKO victory over LFA flyweight champion Felipe Bunes in the event’s curtain-jerker.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.

5 biggest takeaways from UFC Fight Night 234: Is Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev a suitable UFC 300 headliner?

Analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC Fight Night 234, including a potential Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev title fight.

What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 234 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …

Mario Bautista says UFC callout of Rob Font part of three-step plan: ‘Top 15, top 10, and top five’

Mario Bautista will likely break into the UFC bantamweight rankings and he already wants top-10 opponent Rob Font.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag] arguably notched the most impressive victory of his professional career Saturday at UFC Fight Night 234 when he defeated Ricky Simon by unanimous decision, but the focus is forward, forward, forward.

Following the win at the UFC Apex, Bautista (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) called out multitime promotional headliner [autotag]Rob Font[/autotag] (20-8 MMA, 10-7 UFC) for a bantamweight contender battle.

“He’s lost in some certain ways,” Bautista told MMA Junkie and other reporters when asked about the callout at a post-fight news conference. “Whatever way the water flows easiest (is how I’ll win).”

Bautista likely will break into the promotion’s official rankings Monday. Currently, Font sits at No. 9, but is off back-to-back losses to Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo. Font, 36, doesn’t currently have a fight on the books.

“I would say around springtime, (I want to return),” Bautista said. “The way I planned it out is top 15, top 10 and top five at the end of the year (for my next opponents).”

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Bautista was one of two MMA Lab fighters, along with teammate Marcus McGhee, to win at UFC Fight Night 234. The gym, which was put on the map due to the championship run former lightweight titleholder Benson Henderson and head coach John Crouch put together years ago, has found great success in recent months with Bautista, Sean O’Malley, Jared Cannonier, and others finding great success in the cage. Bautista aims to keep the momentum going.

“It’s been great at the MMA Lab,” Bautista said. “It’s something we’ve built over the years, starting with Benson Henderson. He’s built this blueprint for us to follow to be where we’re at today. That’s all it is: Years of training all coming to a point.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.

UFC Fight Night 234 post-event facts: Jim Miller adds more records to epic resume

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 234, which saw Jim Miller grow his all-time wins record and add more history to his resume.

The UFC returned from its holiday hiatus on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and although it wasn’t the most stacked lineup, UFC Fight Night 234 delivered seven stoppage results out of 11 bouts.

In the main event, Magomed Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) produced definitive closure on his rivalry with Johnny Walker (21-8 MMA, 7-5 UFC), scoring a second-round knockout in their light heavyweight rematch to potentially set himself up for a championship opportunity.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 234.

UFC Fight Night 234 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Jim Miller, Andrei Arlovski get max non-title payouts

UFC Fight Night 234 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 234 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $159,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC Fight Night 234 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 234 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

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[autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Johnny Walker[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Gabriel Benitez[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Brunno Ferreira[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Phil Hawes[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Waldo Cortes-Acosta[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Andrei Arlovski[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Preston Parsons[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Matthew Semelsberger[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Marcus McGhee[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Gaston Bolanos[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Farid Basharat[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Taylor Lapilus[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Westin Wilson[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Nikolas Motta[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Tom Nolan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Joshua Van[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Felipe Bunes[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2341 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

  • “UFC Fight Night 234: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2” – $159,500

Year-to-date total: $159,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $22,866,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.

UFC Fight Night 234 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC Fight Night 234 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 234 took place Saturday with 11 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

You can hear from all the UFC Fight Night 234 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.

Mario Bautista embracing sell-yourself mentality to get bigger fights like Ricky Simon at UFC Fight Night 234

Mario Bautista’s way has worked well till now, but he thinks it might be time to open up a bit.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag] is just 30 and heading into his 10th fight in the UFC.

With years of longevity in the promotion, and a current five-fight winning streak, it doesn’t seem like Bautista is doing much wrong. But when it comes to self-promotion, he may recently have realized he needs to … well, sh*t or get off the proverbial pot.

“I just want to start working on some stuff outside, as far as fighting and the gym stuff,” Bautista said at a Wednesday media day in Las Vegas. “I think I need to start working on selling myself and promoting myself. I feel like that’s an area I kind of lack, and that’s just due to my demeanor – kind of quiet by nature. But I think the closer we get to the top, that’s going to be a very important thing in dictating fights and what fights I get and where I get put on cards. I’m going to try to look into that a little bit better for me this year.”

If stepping up his self-promotion game happens after his next win, Bautista (13-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) will have done it against another of the bantamweight division’s most vaunted contenders, Ricky Simon (20-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC).

Simon has been good, himself. He had his own five-fight winning streak snapped less than a year ago. So the timing would be perfect for Bautista to step up the microphone game with a win. He’s a slight betting underdog in the fight, which is the first time he hasn’t been the favorite in nearly four years.

” I was mainly excited that I finally got a top-15 (opponent), and then who better than Ricky Simon,” Bautista said. “(He’s) a tough opponent and it’s really going to test me and it’s going to prove whether I belong there or not. I think stylistically, it’s going to be a fun fight for both of us and the fans.”

UFC Fight Night 234 (ESPN+) takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Benitez fights Miller in the featured bout on the main card.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.

UFC Fight Night 234 pre-event facts: Jim Miller, Andrei Arlovski look to build on all-time wins leads

The best facts about UFC Fight Night 234, which features chances for Jim Miller and Andrei Arlovski to add to their historic resumes.

After a nearly monthlong hiatus, the UFC opens its 2024 schedule on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 234, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+.

Light heavyweight contenders are set to rematch in the main event of the card. [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] (18-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) and [autotag]Johnny Walker[/autotag] (21-7 MMA, 7-4 UFC) will run it back with five rounds scheduled after their originally meeting at UFC 294 in October ended in a no contest due to an illegal knee from Ankalaev that halted the action.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC Fight Night 234.

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Video: ‘UFC Fight Night 234: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2’ media day interviews

Before UFC Fight Night 234 on Saturday, watch as the main card athletes speak to reporters at media day.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 234, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a card that streams entirely on ESPN+, goes down Saturday.

Before fight night arrives, though, notable athletes from the main card spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day.

If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each media day.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 234.