UFC Vegas 24 sees the promotion back at the Apex in Las Vegas for an ESPN card headlined by former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker taking on the former title challenger Kelvin Gastelum. In a lightweight bout, Natan Levy was supposed to fight Austin Hubbard but an injury to Levy forced him to pull out. With matchmakers going to the regional scene for a replacement, Hubbard will be welcoming newcomer Dakota Bush to the UFC.
Dakota “Harry” Bush
Standing at 5’0″
Fighting at 155 lbs (lightweight)
26-years-old
St. Clair, Missouri, US
Training out of St. Charles MMA/The Smith Pit
A pro record of 8-2
2 KO/TKO, 4 Submissions
How will Bush fare in the UFC:
Bush is someone I thought had tons of potential in 2017. Now three and a half years later I expect big things. Bush has something a lot of fighters don’t have and something you look for in an up-and-comer and that’s a deep gas tank.
Bush can fight at an aggressive pace and keep that same energy through three rounds. He doesn’t have any glaring holes; in both his losses he was just out-wrestled. Bush is actually a Missouri state wrestling champion so wrestling is his bread and butter. In no way is his takedown defense bad but in the past, he was out-muscled and out-worked. On the flip side, Bush is an excellent wrestler. He strikes well to close the distance and once he does those takedowns come easy. Bush has a strong body lock, good trips, an excellent switch, and a good double leg. Once Bush gets those takedowns he’s showcased dominant jiu-jitsu. He right away gets to work to better positions and is so good at taking the back in scrambles. He has four rear-naked chokes to show how dangerous he is there.
Bush is a solid wrestler and on the feet, he’s becoming very dangerous. Like I said before, Bush strikes well to close the distance. He throws quick straight punches in explosive flurries. As shown in his last fight he has a sneaky good head kick and it’s something he’s landed a lot in his career. On the outside you will see him throw a one-two, land a lot of kicks, and use a lot of feints. Small things he needs to work on is getting his back off the cage and not letting guys control him along the fence for long periods.
- Striking: B+
- Kickboxing: B
- Clinch: C+
- Wrestling: A
- Grappling: A
- Striking Defense: B
- Takedown Defense: B-
- Cardio: A+
- Biggest Strength: Wrestling
- Biggest Weakness: Off his back
How he matches up with Hubbard:
On the feet, Hubbard has thudding leg kicks and does a great job mixing them with his strikes. He doesn’t have the stopping power but his pace and aggression break his opponents. Hubbard is a grinder who is always working and that is with outstanding cardio. He’s very similar to the style of Bush. On the feet, it’s very even with maybe a slight advantage to Bush due to being more active. It’s going to come down to who the better wrestler is. Bush has the better grappling but it’s who gets the takedowns. In five UFC fights Hubbard has been taken down thirteen times. Bush is a better wrestler then Davi Ramos, Max Rohskopf, and a better technical wrestler then Mark Madsen. Hubbard is someone that gets taken down early but comes back better. That’s not gooing happen with Bush, who can match the endurance. I’m leaning towards Bush because I think he’s slightly better everywhere.
