Mario Bautista: 'I was a couple moves away'

The moments that swung it

• Round 1 submission scare: Bautista cranked a deep toehold and considered bailing to secure top position.

• “Those [toeholds] don’t even hurt until the last second where it pops… I was hoping it would pop. If it did, the rest of the fight he’d be dealing with that.”

• Round 2 knockdown: A quick kick adjustment produced a flash knockdown that might’ve ended the fight with inches of difference.

  “If I just raised it up a little bit higher… imagine right in the lips or right on the nose.”

Despite Umar’s vaunted grappling, Bautista repeatedly scrambled free and stuffed sequences that have broken other contenders. The takeaway, he says, is belief.

“If people think he’s one of the best grapplers… it gives me something to shoot for. It feels so close.”

What the UFC told him

The eight-fight streak is gone, but the stock is up. Bautista says UFC executive Hunter Campbell praised the effort post-fight and promised a strong matchup for his return.

Who’s next?

Bautista is healthy and open-minded about names that keep surfacing online:

• Deiveson Figueiredo

• Marlon “Chito” Vera

• Cory Sandhagen (rematch)

“There’s a few people… Nothing I’ve said or ‘I want this one right now.’”

The outlook

Bautista didn’t get the signature win but he might have earned something just as valuable: proof he belongs in the deepest part of 135. With a couple of the right “moves” next time, he believes the result flips.