The UFC has been called out for its treatment of one of UFC 316’s standout performers.
MMA’s leading organization staged the UFC 316 pay-per-view event on Saturday night, with Octagon action taking place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The headline results featured Merab Dvalishvili choking out Sean O’Malley to defend his bantamweight title and Kayla Harrison submitting Julianna Pena with a kimura to win the women’s 135-pound belt.
The two bantamweight champions weren’t alone in the club of impressive performers on June 7, but a UFC star doesn’t believe one of the main card victors was given the respect he deserved.
Gilbert Burns calls UFC out for ‘disrespecting’ Mario Bautista
After Kevin Holland’s submission and tax conversation with Donald Trump kicked off the PPV portion of UFC 316, it was time for one of the event’s leading storylines to play out.
Patchy Mix was making his highly anticipated UFC debut after coming over as a former Bellator bantamweight champion. He was widely tipped as a future titleholder inside the Octagon ahead of his arrival.
But that talk came to a swift halt on Saturday when Mario Bautista upset debutant Mix at UFC 316.
Among the talking points to emerge, though, was the UFC’s decision not to have Joe Rogan perform his usual post-fight interview duties.
That irked welterweight contender Gilbert Burns, who expressed his disdain for the show of “disrespect” in a post on X.
“Bautista fought a great fight! The level of disrespect no interview,” Burns wrote.
- READ MORE: Ilia Topuria shares six-word reaction to Merab Dvalishvili’s victory over Sean O’Malley at UFC 316
Mario Bautista was given his flowers by fellow UFC fighters
Amid allegations of “disrespect” from the promotion, Bautista was receiving plenty of praise and admiration from his peers.
Bautista’s win over Jose Aldo at UFC 307 last year was met with criticism and frustration by most, given his grappling-heavy approach to stifling the legendary Brazilian.
But the same can’t be said for how Bautista shut down Mix at UFC 316, with his strong performance garnering words of praise from a number of other fighters.
Bautista defended his spot inside the bantamweight top 10 against a man some branded the world’s best at 135 pounds during his time competing elsewhere.
With that marking his eighth straight win inside the Octagon, the 31-year-old Nevada native will hope to have the chance to further climb the ladder toward title contention next time out.