Preview: UFC on ESPN 15 ‘Munhoz vs. Edgar’ Prelims

Lightweights

Joe Solecki (9-2) vs. Austin Hubbard (12-4)

ODDS: Solecki (-145), Hubbard (+125)

Hubbard is probably wondering what he has to do to get noticed. He is a perfectly fine fighter, but his most prominent spots have come against tough opposition where “Thud” has not gotten the chance to look particularly good. From Hubbard’s perspective, laying a beating on promising prospect Max Rohskopf to the point that he stopped the bout between rounds should have finally been something of a breakthrough performance. Instead, most of the talk afterwards was about Rohskopf and his corner and the role each played in stopping the fight, leaving Hubbard as an afterthought, even after one of the strongest performances of his career. Hubbard finds himself matched with yet another grappler in Solecki, who is looking to build off of a successful UFC debut against Matt Wiman in December. Solecki has proven to be a relentless wrestler and submission artist on both Dana White’s Contender Series and against Wiman, but the one-sided nature of his victories has meant that everything else about his game remains an open question. Still, having three rounds of cardio and some strong wrestling skills has proven to be enough to beat Hubbard in the past, even if he has proven shockingly difficult to finish on the ground. The pick is for Solecki to grind out a decision win.

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