UFC 246 saw the triumphant return of Conor McGregor to the Octagon, and the crowd inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was packed with famous celebrities and athletes who wanted to see the fight live. One of the biggest names turned out to be Guardians of the Galaxy star and former WWE Champion Dave Bautista (Batista), who was there to support McGregor’s opponent, “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone. Unfortunately for “The Animal,” Cerrone wound up getting knocked out by McGregor just 40 seconds into the fight, handing the Irish fighter his first victory since late 2016.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Joining Bautista at the event was his personal friend fellow WWE wrestler Titus O’Neil.
.@ufc @DaveBautista @Ludacris @danawhite @TomBrady @Renner4Real #UFC246 Wow @TheNotoriousMMA Vs @Cowboycerrone ๐ณ pic.twitter.com/QsK4neS9PM
โ Titus O’Neil (@TitusONeilWWE) January 19, 2020
“The Animal” was briefly interviewed just before the fight, where he gave his support to Cerrone before briefly speaking about being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this coming April.
ุงูุนุธูู
โ UFC Arabia (@UFCarabia) January 19, 2020
Batista
ูุดุฌุน
Cowboy #UFCArabia#UFC246 pic.twitter.com/JgucO3pUn9
WWE announced Bautista’s induction back in December.
“I don’t think it’s sunk in,” he said at the time. “And I was thinking about it because I mean, it seems like a long journey, but it also feels like yesterday when I started my career. And it also feels … because I’m still working so much, it doesn’t feel like an end of a journey.”
“And I said that at WrestleMania last year: It’s the end of my in-ring journey, but it’s not the end of my journey with the WWE,” he added. “I will always be connected with them, I’ll always be affiliated with them, I hope that I will always have a good relationship with them. So it doesn’t really feel like an ending for me, it feels like, kind of, I’m right in the mix. … All I can say is it feels good, it’s just satisfying. I feel like I accomplished something. I feel like it was all worth it.”
Bautista later said he requested for Fit Finlay to be the one to induct him during WrestleMania 36 weekend.
I owe a lot to all those names mentioned and many more but for personal reasons Iโve personally requested that @ringfox1 induct me into the #WWEHOF … Iโm sure that anyone who knows Fit Finlay will not question my request. https://t.co/avDddMC4jJ
โ Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) December 9, 2019