“Umar recently fought for the title and put up a good fight against the champion. This fight against Umar will show how ready I am to perform at the top. I believe in my team, extraordinary wrestlers and grapplers are training alongside me.
I do not claim that in skill I have already defeated Umar. No, each subsequent fight at this level only gets harder. On the contrary, Umar is different from everyone I fought before. This is an unusual challenge, even though I’ve faced good grapplers before. I have experience preparing for fighters, but Umar will be the most renowned among them,” Bautista stated in an interview with MMA Junkie.