Tag: Mario Bautista

UFC Fight Night 221 video: Mario Bautista taps Guido Cannetti, calls out ex-champ Cody Garbrandt

Mario Bautista made reasonably quick work of Guido Cannetti on Saturday to live up to his billing as the event’s biggest betting favorite.

[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag] made reasonably quick work of [autotag]Guido Cannetti[/autotag] on Saturday to live up to his billing as the event’s biggest betting favorite.

Bautista (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) took out Cannetti (10-7 MMA, 4-6 UFC), one of the UFC’s oldest active fighters at 43, with a first-round rear-naked choke that came on the heels of a suplex slam. Bautista’s finish came at the 3:18 mark of the opening round, but only after Cannetti started out tough.

The bantamweight bout was part of the main card at UFC Fight Night 221 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.

“It’s not a surprise (how he started),” Bautista said in his post-fight interview. “At the MMA Lab, we do all our homework. We don’t take anyone lightly. I don’t care how old you are or how many fights you’ve had – we take you seriously and we were ready for it. I don’t think he liked that suplex and I think he knew if he got back up, he was going to go back down, so I think he gave me the neck there.”

After a scramble on the canvas with Bautista on top, Cannetti got back to his feet and midway through the round found himself on top of Bautista from a takedown. But seconds later, Bautista reversed and tossed Cannetti.

Cannetti got back to his feet, but Bautista was on him like a backpack, then landed a suplex. When Cannetti hit the canvas, Bautista quickly got under his neck and within seconds had the tap.

“I’m not here to play games or anything,” Bautista said. “I’m here to go to the top. I’ve had three first-round finishes. I’m ready for that top 15. I deserve it. If I don’t get the top 15, Cody Garbrandt had a pretty good fight, so me and him, we can do it if he wants to.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 221 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 221.

UFC Fight Night 221 pre-event facts: Merab Dvalishvili best takedown artist in bantamweight history

Go behind the numbers of UFC Fight Night 221, where Merab Dvalishvili enters his main event vs. Petr Yan with takedown records.

The UFC’s busy March schedule rolls on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 221, which takes place at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas with a lineup that streams entirely on ESPN+.

In the main event, bantamweight contenders collide. Former UFC champion [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] (16-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) will attempt to snap a two-fight losing skid when he takes on the streaking [autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag] (15-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC), who has won his past eight consecutive bouts inside the octagon.

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 about UFC Fight Night 221.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Dec. 12-18)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from Dec. 12-18.

UFC books Mario Bautista vs. Guido Cannetti for March event

A bantamweight bout pitting Mario Bautista vs. Guido Cannetti is set for the UFC Fight Night event March 11 in Las Vegas.

Two UFC bantamweights have their first fight of 2023 booked.

[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag] will fight 42-year-old [autotag]Guido Cannetti[/autotag] at a UFC Fight Night event, which takes place March 11 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie, but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. MMA Island first reported the bout Thursday.

Bautista (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) also had a stellar calendar year. He went undefeated at 3-0. Bautista outpointed Jay Perrin and then picked up first-round submission wins over Brian Kelleher and Benito Lopez.

Cannetti (10-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC) had a very successful 2022. The Argentine went 2-0. He scored a first-round TKO of Kris Moutinho in March, and then a first-round submission of Randy Costa in October. The finish against Costa earned Cannetti a $50,000 performance bonus. Prior to the pair of wins, Cannetti was on a three-fight losing skid.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night lineup for March 11 includes:

  • Abu Azaitar vs. Sedriques Dumas
  • Lukasz Brzeski vs. Karl Williams
  • Mario Bautista vs. Guido Cannetti

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UFC’s Mario Bautista knew he was ‘on another level’ than Benito Lopez, wants top-15 opponent next

Once Benito Lopez missed weight, Maurio Bautista knew he was no match for him at UFC Fight Night 214.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag] impressed many in his most recent fight.

The UFC bantamweight dismantled Benito Lopez in just one round at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 214. Bautista (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) submitted Lopez (10-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) with a reverse triangle-armbar in the final seconds of the round after outclassing Lopez both on the feet and the ground.

Bautista expected that kind of showing, and he got a big tell the day before at weigh-ins, where Lopez was 2.5 pounds over the limit.

“I expected that,” Lopez told reporters afterward. “Once I saw him miss weight, I kind of put it in my head that he’s not professional. And that kind of stems into everything – training, life. So I knew I was on another level than him.”

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Lopez is now on a three fight wining streak and 5-1 in his past six outings. The 29-year-old belives it’s time for him to get an opponent with a number next to their name.

“I want to shoot for 11 through 15,” Lopez said regarding wanting ranked opposition. “I don’t want to callout anyone because those rankings are ever-changing, you know. I can callout someone and next month they get kicked out, and I just called out someone that’s not in the top 15. So shooting for top 15, if I get somewhere close to it, I’ll be happy with that.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 214.

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UFC Fight Night 214 post-event facts: Neil Magny passes Georges St-Pierre on wins list

Neil Magny passing Georges St-Pierre for most welterweight wins was one of many notable feats to come out of UFC Fight Night 214.

UFC Fight Night 214 took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and it was an action-filled card with nine of 11 fights ending inside the distance.

The main event saw [autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag] (13-2-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) break through as the next strawweight contender. She scored a standing TKO over fellow Brazilian standout [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag] (17-2-2 MMA, 6-2-2 UFC) in the third round of their clash.

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 214.

UFC Fight Night 214 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Main event combines for $12,000

UFC Fight Night 214 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 214 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $126,500.

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 214 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 214 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag]: $21,000
[autotag]Daniel Rodriguez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Darrick Minner[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Shayilan Nuerdanbieke[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Tagir Ulanbekov[/autotag]: $4,500
[autotag]Nate Maness[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Mark Madsen[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Shanna Young[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Benito Lopez[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Polyana Viana[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Jinh Yu Frey[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Johnny Munoz[/autotag]: $4,50
def. [autotag]Liudvik Sholinian[/autotag]: $4,0000

[autotag]Jake Hadley[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Carlos Candelario[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Tamires Vidal[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Ramona Pascual[/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 2147 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2141 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 2022 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $7,222,000
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $13,399,500

UFC Fight Night 214 video: Mario Bautista wraps up Benito Lopez, forces tap with reverse triangle armbar

Mario Bautista pulled off a slick triangle armbar in the closing seconds of the first round at UFC Fight Night 214.

LAS VEGAS –  [autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag] entered UFC Fight Night 214 believing he was a level above his opponent, and the result supported that notion.

From the moment the fight began, Bautista (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) poured on the forward pressure with hard strikes. Mixing up kicks to the legs and hard punches upstairs, Bautista had Benito Lopez moving backward early.

Late in the round when the fight hit the mat, Bautista wrapped up Lopez (10-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) in a triangle and began hunting for a finish. As Lopez attempted to scramble, his arm became an option for Bautista for an attack, and he did just that while the triangle became inverted.

Lopez focused on the finish and forced a tap from a reverse triangle armbar with just six seconds remaining in the opening round.

Check out the replay of the finish below (via Twitter):

After the win, Bautista said he expected to dominate in such a fashion, and called for a matchup against an opponent in the top 15 early next year. Bautista’s second-straight first-round finish extended his current win streak to three.

Up-to-the-minute results of UFC Fight Night 214 include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 214.

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Benito Lopez booked for UFC return after 40 months away from competition

A promising UFC bantamweight prospect, Benito Lopez somewhat fell off the grid after his July 2019 win. Now, he’s back – 1212 days later.

It’ll be 1212 days in between UFC cage walks for [autotag]Benito Lopez[/autotag] when he ascends toward the cage for a fight vs. [autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag].

The bantamweight clash has been booked for a yet-to-be-announced Nov. 5 card, scheduled to be a UFC Fight Night event. There is no publicly-known location or venue.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after Bautista’s management, Iridium Sports Agency, posted about it on Twitter.

Lopez (10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) bookended a loss to Manny Bermudez between wins over Albert Morales and Vince Morales before he entered an injury-induced hiatus that knocked him out of action from July 2019 until his recent reappearance on the UFC schedule.

Bautista (10-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is coming off back-to-back victories over Jay Perrin and Brian Kelleher. The Kelleher victory was his most recent performance, a 147-second submission.

No other bouts have been announced for the Nov. 5 lineup at this time.

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UFC on ESPN 38 video: Mario Bautista turns in dominant performance, taps Brian Kelleher in first round

Mario Bautista turned in one of the best performances of his UFC run on Saturday.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Mario Bautista[/autotag] wasted little time getting the job done on Saturday.

In what was perhaps the cleanest performance of his six-fight UFC run so far, Bautista (10-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) only needed half a round to seal the victory against Brian Kelleher on the prelims of UFC on ESPN 38 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

After getting the fight to the mat and transitioning to full mount, Bautista found an opening to slap on a rear-naked choke as Kelleher (24-13 MMA, 8-6 UFC) turned away. The choke was in deep and Kelleher had no choice but to tap.

Check out video of the submission below (via Twitter):

“I was super happy to show off my jiu-jitsu,” Bautisa told Michael Bisping during his post-fight interview in the cage. “I’ve been working a lot with John Crouch, and I’ve been waiting to show it off in the UFC. What better guy to show it against than my opponent.”

The win marks the second straight for Bautista, entering Saturday’s contest on the heels of a unanimous decision win over Jay Perrin in February.

Up-to-the-minute results of UFC on ESPN 38 include:

  • Mario Bautista def. Brian Kelleher via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:27
  • Vanessa Demopoulos def. Jinh Yu Frey via spit decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)