“I don’t think anyone really likes to do all the hard stuff during camp like the conditioning; I don’t think anyone really likes that,” he said. “So when you get through that and you get the reward of the fight, that makes it all worth it. The worst-case scenario, and this recently happened to a buddy of mine, he goes through the whole camp, trains super hard, and literally the day of the fight, the guy has a medical issue and can’t fight. And that’s just the worst.”
Bautista foresees no such issues hampering his meeting with Lopez, who makes his first UFC start since 2019. It’s a tough return gig for the Californian, and a bit of a surprise for Arizona’s Bautista.
“I didn’t know if he had retired,” said Bautista. “I hadn’t heard of him in such a long time. And I was thinking maybe they’d give me someone higher up on the ladder, but I was still happy with it. He has a little bit of a following, a different body type than what I’ve been fighting usually, so it’s still a good challenge for me and a good test while I move forward in the division.”
And that’s the goal. Win and move forward. Bantamweight is perhaps the toughest division in the UFC, and hitting both those marks isn’t easy, but Bautista is physically and mentally prepared for the challenge, and he expects that maybe Lopez won’t be completely ready for a return to the wars in the Octagon.
