Mario Bautista shot his shot with former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo, and it didn’t go as well as he probably hoped it would.
Bautista is coming off the biggest win of his career against former featherweight champ Jose Aldo at UFC 307 in October, but it wasn’t a victory that was critically acclaimed from the MMA community — although, it was a very smart game plan from the surging bantamweight contender. Since returning from retirement, Cejudo has lost a title fight to then-champ Aljamain Sterling, and then a decision loss to the current 135-pound titleholder Merab Dvalishvili.
In a backstage moment at Friday night’s LFA 196 event in Phoenix captured by UFC lightweight Drakkar Klose, Bautista walked up to Cejudo during an apparent meet-and-greet and called for a matchup. Check out Klose’s video below.
“Can I tell you something? You can’t be so damn boring though,” Cejudo told Bautista. “Nobody’s going to fight you like that.”
“I wont be boring against you,” Bautista responded.
“Listen, [I’m an] Olympic champ, flyweight champ, bantamweight champ, what have you done,” Cejudo asked.
“Two losses in a row [for you], seven-fight win streak [for me],” Bautista said.
“But look who I lost to: At that time, I lost to the current champ and the other guy is now the former champion. Are you going to f*cking nut grab? What are you going to do? Are you going to stick me against the cage like you did with Aldo,” Cejudo responded.
“I don’t think you’ll stay there [like Aldo did], but it will be an exciting [fight],” Bautista said.
“I wont stay there,” Cejudo said. “I had a meeting with Hunter [Campbell], and whatever Hunter wants, we can do it. Yeah, whatever Hunter wants because, you know what? I wanted [Sean] O’Malley. ... There’s a lot of people that I want. You haven’t done anything. You haven’t done anything.”
“I beat Aldo,” Bautista said.
As of now, neither fighter is booked for their next octagon appearance. The matchup would certainly make sense considering where both guys are at in one of the deepest divisions in the sport. Bautista hasn’t lost since a stunning knockout courtesy of Trevin Jones at UFC 259 in March 2021.
Cejudo is one of the most accomplished combat athletes of all-time. The 37-year-old won six-straight fights — including winning the flyweight title against Demetrious Johnson at UFC 227 in August 2018, and then winning the bantamweight title two fights later when he stopped Marlon Moraes at UFC 238 — before announcing his retirement at UFC 249. “Triple C” stopped Dominick Cruz to retain the bantamweight title in May 2020, the UFC’s first big event back during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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