Jose Aldo and Mario Bautista, UFC 307 ceremonial weigh-in Credit: Dylan Napoleone/Cageside Press
Former featherweight champion Jose Aldo continued his pursuit at bantamweight, taking on Mario Bautista at UFC 307 in his second rematch after a brief retirement.
The bout in Salt Lake City marked Aldo’s second consecutive match against a young up-and-comer in the 135-pound division (following Jonathan Martinez). And even if Bautista was on the wrong side of 30, at only 31, he was still seven years younger than “Scarface.”
Aldo started using his infamous leg kicks in the third fight of the main card of UFC 307. However, Bautista survived and landed punches to the face, forcing Aldo’s back against the fence. Bautista was able to kill time there, but was unable to defeat Aldo. Instead, they went back to center and Aldo landed a right hand. But Bautista hit back. In the next second, he changed levels and once again drove Aldo to the fence, but once again couldn’t get the takedown he wanted. Again they would eventually go back to center, but Bautista certainly held his own and looked sharp against the Brazilian legend for the first five minutes.
In the second round, Bautista quickly cut off Aldo’s jab. Aldo then doubled his left hand. Bautista struggled with a single-leg shot, but the veteran showed great balance and broke free. Aldo started to feel himself, rolling with punches, moving up and down his body, moving, choosing his shots, fighting off another takedown. Bautista kept Aldo pinned in place and landed several shoulder strikes. Aldo then raised his knee and landed a blow, but the two were essentially in a stalemate.
Aldo finally turned and shook off, before landing a sharp right hand to the top. Bautista fought back with a jab. Aldo was a little sharper. However, Bautista was the busier fighter and Jose Aldo continued to mix in his takedown attempts. This time, Aldo went over the fence and hit a combo, and Bautista hit a wild flying knee. It missed the mark and Aldo hit the combo again. Bautista tried to get another takedown at the end of the round, but was again cornered.
Aldo and Bautista started trading for the third round, with Bautista mixing things up by going to the body. A right hand hits Aldo. Bautista connected with his stuff. Nearly two minutes into the fight, Mario Bautista’s next takedown attempt arrived. And like every attempt in the first ten minutes of the battle, this attempt was also stopped. However, Bautista was gaining control time in a close race. The crowd didn’t like it and wanted their opinion heard. The referee acquiesced, but Bautista quickly attempted another takedown. The referee gave another warning for action, but this time Aldo peeled off less than a minute into the match. Aldo continued to attack and landed a few shots before Bautista’s level changed again, putting an end to the incident.
Looking at the scorecards, Bautista won by split decision. This wasn’t the first night the audience wasn’t having fun. Notably, Bautista did not land a single takedown in this match, although his wrestling and multiple attempts were key.
Official result: Mario Bautista def. Jose Aldo split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
