UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Gastelum – Austin Hubbard vs Dakota Bush: Prelims Prediction and Analysis

UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs Gastelum will see an important lightweight clash between Austin Hubbard and Dakota Bush go down in the lightweight division. Both fighters will look to get a win that will catapult them to the upper echelon of a stacked 155lbs division of the UFC.

Hubbard was originally scheduled to face Natan Levy. However, Levy pulled out 2 days ago, opening the door of opportunity for Bush. Now, the surprise debutant will look to upset ‘Thud’ and make his mark in the UFC.

The 29-year-old Hubbard will make his sixth appearance inside the Octagon against Bush. ‘Thud’ has won two out of his previous five fights in the organization. Wins over Max Rohskopf and Kyle Prepolec have been overshadowed by his losses against Davi Ramos, Mark O. Madsen, and Joe Solecki. The latter submitted Hubbard in his last contest.

Meanwhile, Bush will make his first octagon appearance against ‘Thud’. The 26-year-old ‘Hairy’ is an LFA veteran and will enter the promotion with an 8-2 professional record. Bush has never been finished in his career and has 6 finishes (2 T/KO and 4 submissions) in his resume.

Austin Hubbard has been on the wrong end of two submissions. Given ‘Bush’s proclivity for submissions, he will put Hubbard’s defense to the test.

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Austin Hubbard vs Dakota Bush: Stats and analysis

Bush will look to make the most of his first opportunity under the bright lights and get a strong start to his career in the organization. One can expect ‘Hairy’ to come out aggressive against his more experienced opponent. On the flipside, ‘Thud‘ would be cautious and could look to weather the early storm from the UFC debutant before imposing his will.

‘Hairy‘ has a very respectable ground game and submission prowess; Hubbard likes to strike more. So, the latter would look to stuff his opponent’s early takedown attempts and eventually out strike him with his technical approach.

Final Prediction: Austin Hubbard by unanimous decision.

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