Featherweight Austin Lingo returns to action at UFC San Antonio this Saturday, stepping into the cage for the first time in over a year.
His last fight, in August of 2021, saw Lingo earn a unanimous decision victory over Luis Saldana. That gave him back-to-back wins for the year, but injuries have kept Lingo on the shelf since.
“I had two injuries last year, so that set me back a little bit. It wasn’t long-term injuries, so I wasn’t too beat up about it,” Lingo (9-1) told media members during Wednesday’s UFC San Antonio media day. “No surgery, thank God. I just did rehab a lot throughout the year, and got it done.”
The time away was actually beneficial for Lingo in some regards. “It was a lot of learning new stuff, learning new styles, new people in the gym coming in and out,” he stated. “It was good, it was actually good for me.”
“Fresh and ready to go” is how Lingo is feeling these days, and that’s a good thing. He’s drawn an incredibly durable opponent in Nate “The Train” Landwehr this Saturday.
“I know he’s got a lot of stand-up striking skills. The elbows, clinch, knees, everything. He’s pretty good on the ground too,” Lingo observed. “I’m good at all that stuff too. It’s going to be a good fight.”
The plan, with that in mind, might just be to meet in the middle and see who’s better. “Yup, exactly” said Lingo on that front.
Austin Lingo faces Nate Landwehr at UFC San Antonio on March 25, 2023 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, TX.
