The UFC’s bantamweight division remains an embarrassment of riches,
as Bautista is yet another rising young talent that has mostly
stayed under the radar. Bautista had a tough introduction to the
UFC, getting thrown to the wolves on late notice against Cory
Sandhagen, but he then went on to carve out a niche as an
exciting fighter who tended to give up his offensive gains on
defense—an issue that eventually came to a head with a 2021
knockout loss to Trevin
Jones. However, Bautista retooled after a yearlong layoff, and
2022 saw him appear to be a much more complete fighter in three
one-sided wins. Bautista was much more patient and mindful of his
striking defense while still remaining active and productive, and
he also showed an ability to quickly get to his venomous grappling
game. Bautista should be able to make a run at the UFC’s rankings
in short order, but for now, he gets a dangerous but winnable fight
against Cannetti. Still chugging along at 43 years old, Argentina’s
Cannetti has turned a spot on the first season of “The Ultimate
Fighter Latin America” into nearly a decade with the promotion.
Admittedly, a lot of that is likely thanks to some stretches of
inactivity, but “Ninja” has proven to be an effective if flawed
fighter during his trips to the Octagon. A powerful athlete,
Cannetti mostly fights behind bursts of offense and can hit like a
truck; his last two fights have seen him finish Kris
Moutinho and Randy Costa
in roughly three minutes combined. Still, that offensive firepower
clearly comes at the expense of his gas tank. Before his recent
success, Cannetti had a string of fights where he flagged over
time, often leaving himself defensively flammable sooner rather
than later. Bautista still has enough scrapper left in him that he
could charge right into danger, but he should be able to outlast
Cannetti without much trouble if things even get that far. It would
not be a shock to see Bautista quickly get the jump on Cannetti
with his wrestling and make that a non-issue. The pick is Bautista
via first-round submission.
UFC News & Features
