Contender Series alum Austen Lane, perhaps best known as an opponent of Greg Hardy on DWCS, returned for his third visit to the octagon on Saturday, taking on the debut Jhonata Diniz at UFC Vegas 91.
Lane had made two appearances on the Contender Series, four years apart, before earning himself a UFC deal. His first two fights had both come against Justin Tafa, after an eye poke halted their original meeting early (Lane was knocked out in the rematch).
As for Diniz, the kickboxing champ was undefeated in MMA with a 6-0 to start the night.
Lane held a considerable size advantage in the fight, visually dwarfing the kickboxer. About a minute in, Lane got the fight to the ground, working from guard and trying to create space to land some ground n’ pound. Diniz appeared lost on his back, shipwrecked in the center of the cage just holding on to Lane, unable to shrimp to the fence or scramble out.
Austen Lane, meanwhile, passed into half-guard. He had wrist control, though Diniz was able to inch, just a little, back to the fence in that sequence. A stronger wrestler or BJJ artist might have had the bout finished by that point, instead Lane smothered Diniz on top. Lane moved to mount in the final seconds and opened up with ground n’ pound but was unable to do put Diniz away, allowing the bout to head to a second round.
Lane worked his jab early in round two and muscled Diniz to the fence, where Diniz finally opened up a little. Lane blew a takedown and wound up sitting in guard, with Diniz completely disinterested in engaging on the ground, instead hanging around chopping Lane’s legs until the former football player stood back up. Lane had slowed noticeably, and Diniz found an opening for his uppercut. A left, then a right followed; a final left hook toppled Lane! After being dominated on the mat in round one, Jhonata Diniz successfully completed the comeback in round two!
Official Result: Jhonata Diniz def. Austen Lane by knockout, Round 2, 2:12
