SAN ANTONIO – After a disappointing UFC debut, Mario Bautista earned his first UFC win with a “Fight of the Night” performance. And he got to do it with a full training camp before a unanimous-decision win over Jin Soo Son at UFC on ESPN 4.
“I felt that it was good,” Bautista said Saturday night at AT&T Center. “I got to show a lot of my skillset because Jin Son, he’s pretty tough. He’s pretty hard to take out, so I feel pretty good about it.”
Bautista knew he was in for a tough battle as he went toe to toe with Son, exchanging on the feet, in the clinch and working his way up from multiple takedowns.
“I knew if Petr Yan couldn’t take him out, it was going to be pretty tough,” Bautista said. “Because Petr Yan is doing pretty good right now, so I knew I had to be there for 15 minutes and keep up the pace.”
“I’m so happy, it’s just been a lot of hard work, dedication and just to see it come to fruition, it’s just awesome,” Bautista added. “Especially with my team that’s been there since the beginning.”
Bautista (6-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) lost his UFC debut to Cory Sandhagen after stepping in on just six days notice at UFC on ESPN+ 1. He lost via first round armbar and went back to the drawing board following the loss.
“I’ve grown like so much,” Bautista said. “The losses that I’ve had, I had a loss in my amateur career and from there I started training like a professional. And then this loss, I know it was on six days notice, and not to be hard on myself, but my last fight he did beat me skill for skill. It’s not like we went 15 minutes, and he beat me in a decision. He beat me skill for skill, so I knew I had to be sharp in there, be focused, and be in the fight.”
For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN 4, check out the UFC Results.
