Mario Bautista will “beat the brakes off Cory Sandhagen” at UFC 329 then get the title shot, per ex-UFC champ

Mario Bautista is lined up for a high stakes fight this weekend and a former UFC champ who has been guiding him sees this as a moment that can catapult Bautista to a title shot in his own right. Bautista will run it back in a rematch with Cory Sandhagen at UFC 329 and looks to defeat the first man to beat him in pro MMA when they run it back on July 11th.

Benson Henderson is largely coaching and guiding the careers of certain individuals and Mario Bautista stands out among that crop of talent at The MMA Lab which is ample. from what I can tell a fair bit. Bendo is a former WEC and UFC lightweight champ and sees Bautista as UFC champion caliber, having touted that for quite a while now. When breaking down the consequential contest at bantamweight in the Bautista vs. Sandhagen II on Saturday night, Henderson said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],

“Yeah, I think Mario’s the man, I love that guy. I consider him one of my little brothers. He’s been around the gym. He moved from Winnemucca, Nevada when he was 18 years old to come to Arizona to live his dreams, to chase his dreams. He’s done exactly that. He’s put in the hard work. You put in the time, put in the effort. He’s not one of those loud, brash guys who talks a whole lot. I have a hard time with those type of personalities. Not good, not bad.”

“It is what it is, but just, my vibe, the type of person I am, he’s exactly the same. He was my number one draft pick, so to speak. I was a super high on him for the longest time. I’ve only ever had one other number one draft pick and that was Jose Miguel Delgado. I think both those guys, the way they approach the sport, how smart they are, how intelligent they are, and then the hard work I see them putting in the gym, but it’s not just the hour and a half, two hour practice that you see them working.”

Mario Bautista will “beat the brakes off Cory Sandhagen” then “he will get that belt around his waist”, per Henderson

Further delving into the next contest for Mario Bautista, Henderson continued [via Bowks Talking Bouts],

“It’s all the stuff like the other 22 hours of the day that they’re doing outside the gym, outside the practice room. I know that Mario is doing that. I know that Jose Miguel is doing that. So, I’m really high on both those guys. I think Mario’s going to go out there. He’s going to put it on Cory Sandhagen and he’s going to make a statement and say, “Hey, I deserve a title shot now.” He’s going to work for it. He’s not going to talk about it.”

“He’s not going to just post pictures and talk smack to earn a title shot. He’s going to go out there. He’s going to beat the brakes off Cory Sandhagen and say, “Hey, I earned this title shot.” Then he’s going to get a title shot and he will get that belt around his waist.”