UFC 292 results: Mario Bautista secures unanimous decision win after back-and-forth fight with Da’Mon Blackshear

Nothing came easy but Mario Bautista gutted out a hard fought unanimous decision win over late replacement opponent Da’Mon Blackshear at UFC 292.

Originally preparing for ex-bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt, who fell off the card due to injury, Bautista instead had to battle a tough grappler in Blackshear after he accepted this fight following a submission win just seven days ago. Bautista had to deal with a gutsy performance from Blackshear but his pressure and late grappling dominance allowed him to get the win with the judges scoring the fight 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 in his favor.

While he was just one week removed from his rare Twister submission win, Blackshear came out of the gates quick and he used his grappling again as he hunted for a takedown against Bautista throughout the opening round. While Blackshear was able to drag him down, Bautista was quick to scramble free to get back to his feet and reset in the center of the cage.

The relentless wrestling from Blackshear didn’t stop even with Bautista briefly locking onto a guillotine choke as the fighters fell to the floor. Blackshear showed good patience before escaping the submission attempt as the fighters then opted to return to striking where they were both landing some solid shots.

Bautista started to gain momentum after he began marching forward and making Blackshear react to his offensive onslaught rather than playing counter fighter. Blackshear’s movement was slowing down, which made everything he was throwing a little more predictable with Bautista continuing to vary his attacks.

Midway through the third round, Bautista finally latched onto a body lock to drag Blackshear to the ground as he looked to apply his own grappling acumen. Bautista opted to hammer away with punches while advancing his position with Blackshear doing to break free but he just could get away until the final horn sounded.

By all accounts it was the second and third round where Bautista really took over to secure the win while Blackshear gave him everything he could handle across all 15 minutes. The victory serves as Bautista’s fifth in a row as he starts looking towards ranked competition at 135 pounds.