Outside Source
Bautista is set to take on Cory Sandhagen in a bantamweight matchup at UFC 329 on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He believes Sandhagen has a clear wrestling disadvantage against him, and plans to push the pace early.
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Mario Bautista On His Game Plan For Cory Sandhagen
With his last fight being a decision loss, Bautista doesn’t want to let Sandhagen use his evasive movement to bank rounds. Their upcoming clash being a three-rounder, he is eager to avoid leaving it to the judges.
Eyeing a definitive finish, Bautista told Home of Fight: “I’m gonna be hunting that finish. I think it’s obvious where he’s not really the best, which is on the mat. So I’m gonna be hunting for that finish. Pushing hard. We got three rounds. So I’m gonna have to get on the gas right away. I can’t just let him get away with a decision and run around or anything. I think it’s gonna be an exciting fight.”
Bautista (17-3) was riding an eight-fight winning streak, which was snapped by a unanimous decision loss to top contender Umar Nurmagomedov last year. He has since rebounded with a submission win over Vinicius Oliveira this past February. Meanwhile, Sandhagen (18-6) is 1-2 in his last three outings and is coming off a failed title bid against Merab Dvalishvili.
😤 ‼️Mario Bautista says he’s going to make sure to finish Cory Sandhagen and not leave anything up to the judges.
“I know what I have to do to beat him, I’m going to hunt for that finish.
I’m going to get on the gas real early and make sure he doesn’t have the time or ability… pic.twitter.com/MBr4Ul3caS
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) July 1, 2026
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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