Austin Hubbard officially kicked off his second stint in the UFC on Saturday in a lightweight match-up against Cage Warriors vet Michal Figlak.
Hubbard had been released by the UFC in 2022, but last year returned by way of The Ultimate Fighter 31, losing in the finale against Kurt Holobaugh, but ending up re-signed by the company regardless.
Figlak and Hubbard stayed active early, looking for openings and trading kicks/single strikes. Figlak perhaps had a little more power behind his attacks, and chopped Hubbard’s legs out from under him just over a minute in. Hubbard was right back to his feet, and soon shot in on a single-leg, turning the corner only for Figlak to show solid defense and fight off the attempt.
A second takedown attempt moments later was more fruitful for Hubbard, who landed the attempt only for Figlak to scramble up moments later, before any damage was incurred. Figlak went back to his leg kicks while finding a home for his left hand; Hubbard was showing a bit of redness around the face. A right hand for Hubbard also landed, though his connection rate seemed to lag that of Michal Figlak.
Round two started similar to the first, on the feet with some scrappy exchanges. Figlak was in-your-face with the pressure, with Hubbard countering rather than leading. And off his back foot, Hubbard wasn’t generating the power he might have otherwise. And Figlak’s takedown defense continued to serve him well, as he stuffed the next attempt by Hubbard to grab a leg and drag the fight to the mat.
More stand-up action played out in the third, with Michal Figlak and Austin Hubbard going back-and-forth, trading short combos, leg kicks, and generally looking for their chance to explode. For the most part the fight had been evenly matched with Figlak maybe having a slight edge; in the third, he clamped on a body lock from the back a couple of times when the pair clinched up, but not much came of it. The action petered off a bit late in the third, with Figlak appearing to have slowed a step. That gave Hubbard the opening to shoot for a single, eventually dragging Figlak down. Again, he was unable to keep his opponent there, and Hubbard soon found himself reversed on the fence. Another takedown attempt was stuffed by Figlak moments later, and the bout ended off a scramble with Figlak in control.
The judges would look large in Hubbard vs. Figlak, the fight being as close as it was. In the end, all three gave two rounds to Hubbard in a bout that could have gone either way.
Official Result: Austin Hubbard def. Michal Figlak by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
