Mario Bautista’s recent UFC 247 victory reinforces that he’s making the right moves

When it comes to his second-round TKO of Miles Johns at UFC 247 on Feb. 8, bantamweight Mario Bautista feels the fight went about as well as it possibly could have. So now he’s zeroing in on fighting in Las Vegas in front of his home state crowd.

Most importantly, not only did Bautista get the win, but the training he put in before the bout with Johns paid off and helped him pick up the victory.

“I felt pretty good leading up to the fight, and in the fight I felt comfortable in there,” Bautista told MMAWeekly.com. “This was my third fight (in the UFC) so I was way past the jitters. I felt good in my performance. I put in a lot of hard work and it came to fruition in the fight.”

For Bautista, he’s the kind of fighter that can see both sides of the coin when it comes to his performance in a fight.

“There’s many things to take away from it,” said Bautista. “Positive: the things I was working on (in training) actually worked. Negative: I wish I was a little more active in that first round; we were both kind of tentative. Those are things I take away from it. Overall, I’m happy with my performance.”

Having been in the UFC for a year now, Bautista feels like he’s come a long way in the development of his game, especially thanks to being able to focus solely on MMA now.

“Before my first UFC fight I had a fulltime job, so I was only making it to team practice,” Bautista said. “After that first fight, I quit my job. I’m here in the morning, getting in the extra work, and also making that afternoon class with the team as well.

“I just feel I’ve improved this past year more than I had in the past three. I’m pretty happy with where I’m going right now.”

With two wins in his three UFC bouts, Bautista would like an opportunity to set up his next bout, not so much against whom, but rather where being the important aspect of it.

“I just kind of wait for (the UFC),” said Bautista. “I’m not a big fan of calling people out. I think with my performances that does the job.

“As far as what they want to do with me next, all I know is I would like to fight in Vegas next. I would like to fight in Nevada, my home state, and make it easier for everyone to show up, and put on a show for those fans as well.”