The world of MMA doesn’t end with just what happens in the octagon. One big talking point is what happens after the fight, especially when a winner doesn’t get a chance to speak. Post-fight interviews are opportunities for fighters to connect with fans, share their thoughts, and also call out their opponents. But when some are skipped while others get the spotlight, it can feel unfair. Something similar happened to Mario Bautista at UFC 316.
Mario Bautista Vents Out After His Dominant Victory Gets Overshadowed
Bautista gave one of his best performances so far at UFC 316. He beat former Bellator bantamweight champ Patchy Mix by unanimous decision. Bautista showed his elite striking skills and landed a career-high 173 punches on Mix’s face, completely dominating the three rounds.
Despite all of this, the fighter didn’t get a complete feeling of victory, as he was not given the chance to chat with Joe Rogan. This snub becomes more notable when it is considered that every other event winner had a post-fight octagon interview.
During his recent appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Bautista was asked how he felt about it and whether he was surprised by it. “A little bit,” he replied.
The fighter didn’t hold back his thoughts and candidly said, “Afterwards, I was just thinking, man, I did everything…I did the exact opposite of what I did to Aldo. I held Aldo. Now, I fought Patchy, and I stood up with him the whole time, and it still didn’t seem good enough. I don’t know if it’s a UFC thing. I don’t know if it was a Trump time delay, whatever it was, it was a little bit weird.”
Mario Bautista on not getting a post-fight interview after his win over Patchy Mix:
“I did the exact opposite of what I did to Aldo. I held Aldo. I fought Patchy and I stood up with him the whole time and it still didn’t seem good enough.
I don’t know if it’s a UFC thing. I… pic.twitter.com/vToQNtUtjE
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 9, 2025
Bautista’s frustration showed even more as he looked back on what happened. “Now that I think of it, that’s kind of like messed up,” he said. Although he thought he would do the media stuff backstage post-fight, he felt the snub was unfair. “Even if I wanted to cut a promo, they didn’t even give me the chance to do that,” he shared.
Why Bautista Recalled Jose Aldo for Not Getting an Octagon Interview
Bautista namedropped Aldo here because of his controversial split decision win against “King of Rio” at UFC 307. Many believe that the Brazilian legend outperformed the American fighter, as he tried to just avoid Aldo’s attacks most of the time.
Talking about that controversial win, Bautista previously told MMA Fighting that the outrage has more to do with Aldo being a beloved and popular fighter than whatever happened during the fight itself.
“Everyone loves Jose Aldo and everyone wants to see the old Jose Aldo. The highlights, all the things he could do, and I think they’re just mad that I shut it all down and I wasn’t going to allow it to happen,” he said.
It seems like fans haven’t forgiven Bautista yet, which may explain why he received such a hostile reception in Newark. “I noticed it in the fight while I’m standing up with this guy the whole time, and they’re booing. In my mind, I’m thinking, damn, I can’t make any of these people happy,” Bautista told Helwani.
“Maybe they just didn’t wanna hear the boos afterwards,” he later said about missing the octagon interview. He also mentioned that it was the second time that UFC denied an octagon interview with him. Earlier, it happened when he won against Da’Mon Blackshear at UFC 292.