Mario Bautista

Mario Alberto Bautista (born July 1, 1993) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 8, 2024, he is #9 in the UFC bantamweight rankings.

Background

Bautista was born in Winnemucca, Nevada, United States. He started wrestling at the age of 14 and competed throughout his high school years prior started training in jiu-jitsu. Bautista moved from Nevada to Arizona and joined MMA Lab and trained under John Crouch where he started his professional MMA career in 2012.

Mixed martial arts career

Bautista fought in various promotions such as Tachi Palace Fights, and Combate Americas, in regional Arizona and California circuit and amassed a record of 6–0 prior signed by UFC.

In his UFC debut, Bautista faced Cory Sandhagen, replacing injured John Lineker, on January 19, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw. He lost the bout via first round submission.

Bautista faced Jin Soo Son on July 20, 2019, at UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Edwards. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

On February 8, 2020, Bautista faced Miles Johns at UFC 247. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

Bautista faced Trevin Jones, replacing Randy Costa, on March 6, 2021, at UFC 259. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two.

Bautista was scheduled to face Guido Cannetti on August 28, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 30. However, Bautista tested positive for COVID-19 and was pulled from the card.

Bautista was scheduled to face Khalid Taha on February 19, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 201. However, Taha had to pull out off the bout due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by newcomer Jay Perrin. Bautista won the fight via unanimous decision.

Bautista faced Brian Kelleher on June 25, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 38. He won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the first round.

Bautista faced Benito Lopez on November 5, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 214. At the weigh-ins, Lopez weighed in at 138.5 pounds, two and a half pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. Lopez will be fined 20% of this individual purse which will go to Bautista. He won the fight via a reverse triangle armbar submission in the first round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

The match between Bautista and Guido Cannetti was rescheduled for UFC Fight Night 221 on March 11, 2023. He won the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the first round.

Bautista was scheduled to face Cody Garbrandt August 19, 2023, at UFC 292. However, Garbrandt withdrew a week before the event due to injury, and was replaced by Da'Mon Blackshear, who last fought a week before at UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. dos Anjos. Bautista won the fight by unanimous decision. 10 out of 15 media outlets scored it for Blackshear.

Bautista faced Ricky Simón on January 13, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 234. He won by unanimous decision.

Bautista faced former UFC Featherweight Champion José Aldo on October 5, 2024 at UFC 307. Despite being unable to land a takedown after ten attempts, he won the fight by split decision. The MMA media was evenly split, with 9 outlets scoring the bout for Aldo and 9 others for Bautista.

Championships and accomplishments

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • Performance of the Night (Two times) vs. Miles Johns and Benito Lopez
  • Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Son Jin-soo
  • Tied (Raphael Assunção, Renan Barão & Petr Yan) for the third longest win streak in UFC Bantamweight division history (7)

Mixed martial arts record