UFC GOAT tells Mario Bautista what not to do against ‘legend of the game’ Umar Nurmagomedov

Demetrious Johnson tells Mario Bautista to give Umar Nurmagomedov no respect at UFC 321

Former UFC champ Demetrious Johnson knows a thing or two about team Nurmagomedov.

The greatest flyweight in MMA history has trained with the likes of Khabib and Umar before, giving Bautista his best advice on his YouTube channel.

“Key to victory No. 1: Do not respect Umar Nurmagomedov,” Johnson said (h/t: Red Corner MMA).

“What I mean by that, people get kinda aura shy, right?” Johnson continued.

“They’re like, oh, man. This is an Nurmagomedov. He trains with Khabib. They kinda get googly eyes. You see a lot of guys do that when it comes to Anderson Silva back in the day or when people would fight Khabib Nurmagomedov.

“They’re like, oh, he’s supposed to take me now, so I’m just gonna accept that position. They have too much respect for their name…

“Do not respect,” Johnson advised Bautista.

“Go forward, march forward. A lot of people have been doubting him, and I think now he’s in a position where he feels that I am worthy to be on this main card,” the former champion said of Bautista.

“I’m worthy to have this opportunity to fight one of the legends of the game in Umar Nurmagomedov…

“They’re not thinking that you’re gonna come forward and actually put combinations together and actually take the fight to Umar Nurmagomedov.

“If you allow Umar Nurmagomedov to dictate what’s gonna happen in the fight, then you’re always gonna be one step behind. But if you jump into the fight before he does, he could be one step behind,” Johnson added.

Mario Bautista didn’t get a post-fight interview his last time out

Bautista has flown under the radar for far too long.

Bautista lost his UFC debut to former title challenger Cory Sandhagen in 2019 and eleven fights later, Bautista finally gets a shot at a top-5 contender in Umar Nurmagomedov.

Ranked #9 in the world, Bautista was not given a post-fight interview after his latest win over former Bellator champion Patchy Mix at UFC 316, which was one of the best performances of his career.

Should Bautista beat Nurmagomedov at UFC 321, the relatively quiet 32-year-old is more than likely going to call out the champ Merab Dvalishvili on the microphone this time around.