Athletes
Mario Bautista Remains Classy Throughout The Journey
Despite A Late Opponent Change, Mario Bautista Is Still Grateful To Be Fighting At UFC 292: Sterling vs O'Malley In Boston
Mario Bautista will never say someone gets used to the heat in Arizona, but what the Phoenix bantamweight will tell you is that this past summer took things to a new level as he prepared for his UFC 292 bout this weekend.
“Honestly, it's not too fun,” he said. “You can't even go outside and do anything enjoyable. It's just from your house to your car, from your car to wherever you're going, and that's pretty much it. I think on the news at the end of the month for July, they said every day of July was over 110.”
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That’s hot. The type of hot that makes you want to do anything but prepare for a prizefight, but when Bautista got paired with former 135-pound champion Cody Garbrandt, he did what was necessary to get ready. And with the MMA Lab squad, that included early morning runs under a blazing sun.
“We'll do our sprints outside in the morning and, even then, it's still getting pretty hot,” Bautista said. “The sprints will go by pretty fast, but it's just on that last sprint your feet get pretty uncomfortable from the heat. It makes you just want to go inside and take off your shoes real quick and run 'em through some water.”
Mario Bautista Submits Brian Kelleher In First Round | UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs Gamrot
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Mario Bautista Submits Brian Kelleher In First Round | UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs Gamrot
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Then the work continues. Enough days of that and you certainly want to punch somebody in the face, especially when Bautista got word that Garbrandt was injured and out of the fight. In stepped Da’Mon Blackshear, but as good as “The Monster” is, he doesn’t have the name recognition of a former world champion.
“This is the one I've wanted,” said Bautista of fighting “No Love.” “Either top 15 or a good name and I got a good name, for sure, so I think this one will look really, really good on my resume.”
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Unfortunately, the fight game rarely goes along with a fighter’s plans. And in the case of Bautista, he’s been patient as he reeled off four consecutive wins and three straight finishes of Brian Kelleher, Benito Lopez and Guido Cannetti, to lift his UFC record to 6-2. The Garbrandt fight was to be his coming out party on a pay-per-view main card. At least he remains on Saturday’s main card, and he’s remained classy throughout his journey to this point.
“I know I've had some longer layoffs between COVID coming around and having that (pectoral) injury, and this and that, but I thought rattling off some of those wins, especially after Kelleher, I'd be getting bigger fights, but it is what it is. I've only been getting better this whole time and I've been proving it. Each fight they've given me, I was supposed to beat this guy and I beat him exactly the way I'm supposed to. So all it is, is just more experience for me and I'm active right now, and I feel like I'm in my prime or just getting into it. So I feel like this is the right moment for me. Everything comes together at the right time. If I want something, I'm just going to prove it through my performances and that's where we're at right now.”
That means no trash talking, no going on social media rants at his fellow bantamweights, or even dyeing his hair like his teammate, UFC 292 headliner Sean O’Malley.
“No, I don't think I'll ever dye my hair,” Bautista laughs.
I tell him I better not see him with rainbow-colored hair on fight week now.
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“I better not see myself like that,” he laughs, clearly at ease before the biggest moment of his career, thus far.
“I'm just excited to be part of it and get used to that different buildup as opposed to being in a prelim fight,” he said. “Usually, you’ve got to go take some photos, go back to the room, train and do whatever you’ve got to do. But this one we're going to have a media day and then the ceremonial weigh-ins. So that's what I'm excited for; that extra to the buildup to this fight. So I’m definitely ready for it.”
He's even more ready for a high of 74 degrees on fight day in Boston. Back home? A predicted high of 98 on Saturday. You may not think it means much, especially fighting in an air-conditioned TD Garden, but those who participate in fall marathons know that the misery of training in oppressive heat in August pays off on race day in November.
Same theory here.
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“I think it definitely helps,” said Bautista. “We do our warmups outside and that heat will get your heart rate going up pretty high, so you obviously get warmed up faster. But yeah, it's a different toughness you’ve got to have to deal with the heat, so hopefully it transfers over.”
UFC 292: Sterling vs O'Malley took place live from TD Garden in Boston on August 19, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
