Mario Bautista praises Jose Aldo for his fight

SALT LAKE CITY – Mario Bautista admits he was surprised by his matchup against Jose Aldo.

An up-and-coming bantamweight from the MMA Lab, Bautista (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) takes on the all-time great featherweight, Aldo (32-8 MMA, 14-7). UFC) on Saturday at UFC 307. The fight takes place on the main card at Delta Center.

“When I got Jose Aldo, I was pretty excited and pretty happy,” Bautista told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight press conference on Wednesday. “He has rank and is a UFC legend. I was quite surprised that he was competing against these young people. You would think he would come back and fight someone his age or (with) an entourage, like a Henry Cejudo or someone like that. But credit to him. He’s willing to take the risk.”

Despite the high-profile opponent, Bautista doesn't feel like he's in the spotlight more. In his mind, all eyes are still on Aldo, but he hopes that a successful performance could change that.

“(A win) would definitely put me in the top 10, possibly top 5,” Bautista said. “As a fighter, you always want those fights, those Hall of Famers or someone who's been in the game for a while just to face them. “I know he's not in his prime, but that doesn't matter . It’s just the name and something I’ve always looked forward to.”

Should he win on Saturday, Bautista admits his career will continue to move upwards. His life could change, but in some ways Bautista hopes he can keep a low profile.

“I just have to be myself,” Bautista said. “I'm just a homebody. I just stay at home and kind of reject some things. I don't know if it's good or not. It just keeps my peace of mind. This allows me to just concentrate on training. That's exactly what I like to do: training (and) fighting. But if it comes and it’s right up my alley, I’ll do it.”

For more information on the card, check out MMA Junkie's UFC 307 event hub.