Lightweights MarQuel Mederos and Austin Hubbard kicked off the UFC Mexico City preliminary card at the Arena CDMX on Saturday.
Hubbard, from Illinois, was in hostile territory for the fight, looking to bounce back from a loss to Alexander Hernandez in October.
Within 30 seconds into Saturday’s card-opener, Hubbard hand landed a low blow. Luckily Mederos was no worse for the wear. He targeted Hubbard’s lead leg to decent success, though Hubbard would spin and land a back kick to the midsection, the highlight of the round perhaps. Late in the frame, Hubbard would go after a takedown, but couldn’t land it, Mederos giving his all to fight it off.
MarQuel Mederos spent nearly the entirety of round two with Austin Hubbard on his back. Hubbard went after a takedown early and while he couldn’t land it, he was able to scale the back. Mederos then walked across the octagon, taking Hubbard with him, to his corner. There, he spent minutes carrying Hubbard’s weight, unable to shrug or slam him off. Instead, Hubbard finally dragged him down with less than a minute left. The rear-naked choke wasn’t there, but the round belong to Hubbard.
Hubbard opened round three with a takedown, getting to work on top. With the fight possibly being 1-1, that was huge for Hubbard. While he could work in a little ground n’ pound, Mederos was able to reverse out with about two minutes left in the frame. Mederos fired elbows, and Hubbard, though not in danger and able to work to his knees, was cut. Hubbard finally returned to his feet with a minute to go, his hair now stained red. Mederos fired a jump knee that fell short; Hubbard then went after a takedown, but dropped down onto his back, trying to drag Mederos with him. Instead, Mederos wound up seated on top of the American, giving the judges an interesting round to score.
MarQuel Mederos is now 2-0 under the UFC banner, and has won eight straight overall.
Official Result: MarQuel Mederos def. Austin Hubbard by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
