SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
July - 2016
43
rera, who weathered an incredible
storm just to make it to the end of
the fight. Because frankly, Bagauti-
nov was in beast mode, throwing
kicks, punching for the fences, and
looking absolutely focused.
Walking out to “Fight Nights” by
Salvador, Bagautinov looked deter-
mined from the outset, perhaps fu-
eled by his 0-2 record in his last two
fights, including a title fight loss to
champ Mighty Mouse and another
to the always dangerous Joseph
Benavidez. The possibility that he
was fighting for his job may have
been weighing on his mind, as well
as a positive test for EPO following
his title shot, but whatever the mo-
tivating factor, Bagautinov’s effort
at UFC Fight Night 89 looked to be
a return to form.
Putting Herrera in danger repeated-
ly and nearly stopping the fight on
several occasions, it was a credit to
his opponent that the fight didn’t
end early on. At the end of three
rounds, it was a clear unanimous
decision for Bagautinov, with 30-
27 being the score from all three
judges.
The problem is, does it matter?
Fighting an unranked opponent,
already a victim of the Demetri-
ous Johnson freight train, and with
the flyweight division’s course set
for the next year thanks to a title
shot gifted to Wilson Reis, and the
winner of the next Ultimate Fighter
getting the next crack at Mighty
Mouse, it will be a long time before
another title shot is even possible
for Bagautinov. And given his pre-
vious PED test failure, UFC match-
makers may be hesitant to put him
back in title contention — though
there is plenty of precedent for it
(see: Sonnen, Chael).
Still, it seems a little disheartening
that such a great performance Sat-
urday may fly under the radar and
wind up being a solid victory that
does nothing for Bagautinov’s posi-
tion in the division. On the flip side,
however, it represented a great start
to the inaugural Ottawa card, and
hopefully is a sign that Bagautinov
can make another run at 125lbs.
He’ll just have to be extremely pa-
tient getting there.
