Mario Bautista faced a hostile crowd in Utah after picking up the biggest win of his career with a split decision over Jose Aldo at UFC 307.

Using forward pressure, takedown attempts and working from the clinch kept Bautista busy over all three rounds as he avoided any seriously damaging strikes from Aldo. It was a back-and-forth fight throughout with two judges scoring the fight 29-28 for Bautista and the third official going 29-28 for Aldo.

That was still enough for Bautista to get the win, although the unhappy audience in Salt Lake City let him hear about it.

“My game plan was to keep a lot of movement, stay active, he’s very hard to take down,” Bautista said afterwards. “I wasn’t going to let those failed takedown attempts stop me. I knew it would be tough but I knew not to get down on myself. I’m focused on the task. I’m here to win. I’m here to beat the legend.”

Looking for a fast start, Bautista was busy right out of the gate, getting in Aldo’s face and pressing the action immediately. Aldo started having visions of his previous appearance in Utah when he spent most of the fight playing defense against the cage in the clinch with Merab Dvalishvili except this time it was Bautista applying a similar strategy, although he was definitely more willing to engage in the striking exchanges

Just before the first round ended, Aldo connected with a stiff right hand that definitely got Bautista’s attention, although he seemed undeterred as he headed back to his corner.

As the action restarted, Aldo snapped off a jab that opened a cut over Bautista’s right eye as blood began leaking down his face. That damage fueled Aldo to get more active on his feet but Bautista wasn’t backing down as the bantamweights continued trading strikes.

While Aldo was effective snapping off shots from the outside, Bautista showed good movement with quick leg kicks and then closing the distance to work from the clinch again. When the fighters separated, Aldo started swinging with wild power but Bautista didn’t back down as he fired back with a jumping knee that nearly landed.

Aldo continued to pepper away from the outside but Bautista was undeterred as he kept moving forward and looking for the takedown. Even after a separation, Bautista immediately dove for the legs again but Aldo shrugged him off as the fighters reset in the center.

With some room to work, Aldo uncorked some more big punches and Bautista once again closing the distance to bring the fight back to the clinch against the cage. Neither fighter really put together too much offense in the final round but it seems Bautista’s aggression and control against the cage helped him get the nod from the two judges he needed to earn the win.

Bautista has now rattled off seven straight victories with this latest win over Aldo almost certainly putting him into title contention conversations at 135 pounds.