Mario Bautista put returning fighter Jose Aldo to the test at the UFC307 main card.
Bautista promised to bring the fight, and he delivered despite the boos and hate from the crowd. The fighter came in as the aggressor, attacking Aldo on all fronts. He continued to ravage Aldo with strikes and punches that took a while for Aldo to recover from. Aldo managed to get his head back in the game and land a hard right hand just before the first round came to a close.
Aldo came in hot in the second round and landed a jab that opened a cut on Bautista’s eye. He went in for the kill, but Bautista displaced impressive footwork and evaded some of Aldo’s savage punches. The two soon clinched up, but that didn’t stop their vicious exchange. The fight ended with a split-decision win for Mario Bautista.
Although Bautista celebrated his win, many criticized the fighter after his victory. Fans believe the fight was lacklustre, and the fighter stalled with a clinch that helped him walk away with the win. Lightweight former champ Conor Mcgregor took to social media to describe the result as a “dirty” and “bullshit” decision. As expected, Bautista got upset with “The Notorious” comments and fired back at him.
“Conor can kiss my a** and he can fight whenever he’s supposed to,” Bautista said. “Take the fight against [Michael] Chandler. Shut up.”
“The performance is what it is. Had to do what I had to do,” Bautista said. “I got cut in the second round. I got hit with something pretty good and I was able to drive him through the fence. He has good takedown defence but cannot get off the cage. That’s not my fault, you know? If that was me, I’m able to circle off the cage. So whatever the crowd thinks, whatever everyone thinks, I mean, that’s on him.
“He wasn’t getting off the fence and I’m not gonna let him off the fence. And I try to take him down, he’s good right there. And like you said, that’s something Merab did, and now look at him, he’s the champ. … I thought I did enough. Striking wise he was getting after a little bit but like I said, he just gave up a lot of time on the cage, so that that’s on him.”
Despite the controversy surrounding his win, the fighter remains determined to advance in his career and challenge any worthy opponent.
UFC 307 FIGHT BONUSES
The UFC 307 was a night of amazing fights and impressive knockouts that had audiences on the edge of their seats.
As expected, some fighters, including Khalil Rountree Jr. and Alex Pereira, were rewarded for their performances. The light heavyweight fighters were awarded Fight of the Night and given $50,000 for their performance.
Other POFN bonuses went to Joaquin Buckley for his KO win against Stephen Thompson in the third round and Ryan Spann after submitting Ovince Saint Preux in the first round.
