Mario Bautista made reasonably quick work of Guido Cannetti on Saturday to live up to his billing as the event’s biggest betting favorite.
Bautista (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) took out Cannetti (10-7 MMA, 4-6 UFC), one of the UFC’s oldest active fighters at 43, with a first-round rear-naked choke that came on the heels of a suplex slam. Bautista’s finish came at the 3:18 mark of the opening round, but only after Cannetti started out tough.
The bantamweight bout was part of the main card at UFC Fight Night 221 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas.
“It’s not a surprise (how he started),” Bautista said in his post-fight interview. “At the MMA Lab, we do all our homework. We don’t take anyone lightly. I don’t care how old you are or how many fights you’ve had – we take you seriously and we were ready for it. I don’t think he liked that suplex and I think he knew if he got back up, he was going to go back down, so I think he gave me the neck there.”
After a scramble on the canvas with Bautista on top, Cannetti got back to his feet and midway through the round found himself on top of Bautista from a takedown. But seconds later, Bautista reversed and tossed Cannetti.
Cannetti got back to his feet, but Bautista was on him like a backpack, then landed a suplex. When Cannetti hit the canvas, Bautista quickly got under his neck and within seconds had the tap.
Bantamweights beware. #UFCLasVegas pic.twitter.com/ihZBsDe2Il
— UFC (@ufc) March 12, 2023
“I’m not here to play games or anything,” Bautista said. “I’m here to go to the top. I’ve had three first-round finishes. I’m ready for that top 15. I deserve it. If I don’t get the top 15, Cody Garbrandt had a pretty good fight, so me and him, we can do it if he wants to.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 221 results include:
- Mario Bautista def. Guido Cannetti via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:18
- Vitor Petrino def. Anton Turkalji via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
- Karl Williams def. Lukasz Brzeski via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
- Davey Grant def. Raphael Assuncao via technical submission (reverse triangle choke) – Round 3, 4:43
- Josh Fremd def. Sedriques Dumas via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 3:00
- Victor Henry def. Tony Gravely via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
- Ariane Lipski def. JJ Aldrich via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Bruno Silva def. Tyson Nam via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:23
- Carlston Harris def. Jared Gooden via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 221.
