Mario Bautista knew he would be able to finish Guido Cannetti early at UFC Las Vegas.
After Bautista submitted Benito Lopez in the first round, he wasn’t sure what would be next for him but was surprised when he was offered Cannetti. Although it wasn’t the fight he was hoping for, Bautista knew he had to make a statement and finish Cannetti early.
“I wouldn’t say disrespected, but I just made sure this time what I want and who I want and on top of that performance,” Bautista said to BJPENN.com. “If they deny me this time or go lower than that or Guido’s level, I would feel pretty disrespected. I blame last time on myself as I didn’t call anyone out so we will see what happens this go around…
“We had a pretty good gameplan and had a feel of how it would play out,” Bautista added. “It went pretty much exactly how we expected it to go. I knew if I could do what I did to Kelleher I can do that to a lot of people in the division, especially Cannetti.”
After Mario Bautista finished Guido Cannetti at UFC Las Vegas, he made it known what he wanted next. His callout was anyone in the top-15 or Cody Garbrandt and after four straight wins, and three by first-round stoppage, he believes he deserves that.
“I wanted someone in the top-15 or Cody,” Bautista said. “Most of the people in the rankings are booked so I thought if I can’t get someone ranked, I would like Cody who is equal to someone who is ranked. We fought at the same time so our timelines match, and it would be a good fight, too.”
If Bautista does get the Garbrandt fight, he is confident he would bring the brawler back out of Garbrandt. If he does that, he knows he can connect and KO Garbrandt to pick up the biggest win of his career and set him up to be in the top-10 by the end of the year.
“I know it wouldn’t be boring. I would pressure him and would be ready because I know it wouldn’t be an easy fight but I’d mix it up in there,” Bautista concluded. “Cody would have to fight me, and I think I could bring his wild style out once I start to land. I think you can draw him into that firefight and he is an emotional fighter and I think that is where he will open up the most when we fight.”
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