UFC 248 results: Mark O. Madsen survives late comeback from Austin Hubbard to win unanimous decision

Olympic silver medalist Mark O. Madsen had to survive a late surge from Austin Hubbard to keep his undefeated record intact at UFC 248.

The Greco-Roman wrestling specialist dominated the first two rounds but had to gut out the final five minutes with Hubbard coming after him with everything in his arsenal trying to pull off the comeback. In the end, Madsen made it to the final bell and earned the victory with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28 in his favor.

“I felt great,” Madsen said about the win while also revealing he dealt with staph infection and a shoulder injury leading into UFC 248. “This is exactly why I’m in the UFC. I want to be pushed. I want to fight the best.”

The powerful grappling from Madsen really was the story of the fight through the first two rounds. As soon he got his hands on Hubbard in the opening round, the 35-year-old Danish fighter grabbed a body lock and lifted him into the air before bringing the fight crashing back down to the ground.

While Hubbard was able to scramble and stay out of too much trouble on the ground, Madsen was on the attack, constantly looking for the takedown. When the fight did hit the mat, Madsen began peppering away with punches or looking for various chokes in order to put Hubbard away.

Again and again, Hubbard found a way to escape but he just couldn’t get away from Madsen’s wrestling enough until the third and final round.

That’s when Hubbard saw an opening to uncork a beautiful jumping knee that blasted Madsen in the jaw and forced the Olympian to grab onto the body lock to avoid further damage. Knowing that Madsen was rattled and beginning to slow down, Hubbard started gunning for the knockout in hopes of staging an epic comeback.

Unfortunately for him, Madsen still had the superior wrestling and he was able to stave off Hubbard’s attacks until the final horn.

Madsen now stands at 2-0 in the UFC with a 10-0 record overall while remaining one of the top prospects in the lightweight division.