Mario Bautista is targeting a bout with a former UFC Champion after his win at UFC 316, but injuries could scupper those plans.
The American fighter put away the debuting Patchy Mix on the undercard in New Jersey, earning the judges’ decision win after three ferocious rounds.
The impressive UFC 316 victory propelled Mario Bautista up to ninth place in the UFC Bantamweight rankings, a division dominated by the champion Merab Dvalishvili.
As he climbs towards a potential title fight, Bautista has targeted a former champion as his next opponent, although injuries could halt that contest.
Mario Bautista targets a ‘top five’ fight with Umar N or Deiveson Figueiredo
Bautista’s next fight looks to be against some of the Bantamweight division’s top contenders, although injuries could spoil his plans.
Speaking with MiddleEasy, Bautista named Umar Nurmagomedov and Deiveson Figueiredo as his potential next opponents.
However, he admitted that Figueiredo’s knee injury that he suffered at UFC Des Moines will have an impact on if that fight can happen in 2025.
Bautista said: “I definitely want a top-five fight or something really close, you know? I like that Umar fight, and I like Figgy [Deiveson Figueiredo] if his knee’s good by the end of the year.
Ideally, though, someone in the top five who can get me closer to a title shot. With a win over Umar, I’m 100% right there. There’s no denying me at that point. I need a fight like that.”
Deiveson Figueiredo suffered a devastating leg injury in a loss to Cory Sandhagen at UFC Des Moines
The bout with Figueiredo is up in the air after the damage Sandhagen did to him in their main event clash at UFC Des Moines last month.
The Brazilian suffered a freak knee injury during the fight, which forced the referee to stop the fight in the second round against the #4-ranked contender.
Sandhagen called the win “flawless” and admitted everything went to plan, despite the damage done to the knee of his opponent.
There is no news on the severity of the injury or how long the Brazilian will remain in recovery before fighting again.
Figueiredo is planning a swift return, but time will tell if it will be in time to face Bautista in his next UFC bout.