UFC 321 adds big time bantamweight fight between Umar Nurmagomedov and Mario Bautista

https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1961249014248042811

The fight is Nurmagomedov’s first fight since he suffered his first career loss back in January. Back in January, Nurmagomedov challenged Merab Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title. Nurmagomedov was the big betting favorite that night and through two rounds, I had him up 2-0.

However, as Nurmagomedov slowed down, Dvalishvili did his thing and never slowed down his pace. The champion won the final three rounds to retain his bantamweight title handing Nurmagomedov his first career loss.

Prior to that, Nurmagomedov had been 6-0 in the UFC with a win over upcoming title challenger Cory Sandhagen. Now, he’ll try to get back on track as he takes on Mario Bautista.

There were rumors of this fight swirling earlier today and I told another media member that it sure doesn’t feel like the UFC likes Mario Bautista. Bautista is coming off a huge win against Patchy Mix in June and he didn’t even get a post-fight interview after that win.

It was his eighth win in a row which should be celebrated. However, many still have a sour taste in their mouths after Bautista’s win over Jose Aldo. Bautista won a split decision over Aldo where he really just held Aldo against the cage throughout their fight.

Ever since then, he has not been a favorite in terms of the fans and seemingly the promotion. Now, he’ll have by far the toughest test of his career as he takes on Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 321.