Austin Lingo (born July 10, 1994) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competes in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

division. A professional since 2017, he is most notable for his stint in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

Early life

Lingo began training in martial arts at a young age after his father found out he’d been involved in a street fight. Lingo started boxing, along with training

Tae Kwon Do Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In a ...

, Kickboxing, and

Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

. He became so enthralled in the latter that he went across the globe to train in the birthplace of Muay Thai,

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

In his MMA debut at LFA 16, he defeated Charles Williams via unanimous decision. Lingo submitted Josh Foster in the first round via guillotine choke at Xtreme Knockout 39, before returning to

Legacy Fighting Alliance The Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Houston, Texas. It was created as a result of the Legacy Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance merg ...

, where he would spend the rest of his career on the regional scene. He would win his next 5 bouts under the banner; Omar Benjar via TKO in round one at LFA 33, Phil Gonzalez via unanimous decision at LFA 40, Aaron Webb via knock out in the first round at LFA 55, Angel Cruz via rear naked choke in the first round at LFA 62. In his final performance for the promotion, at LFA 73, Lingo faced Solo Hatley Jr., defeating him by knock out 25 seconds into the bout.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In his promotional debut, Lingo faced fellow newcomer

Youssef Zalal Youssef Zalal (; born September 4, 1996) is a Moroccan professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of April 29, 2025, he is #12 in the UFC featherweight r ...

on February 8, 2020, at

UFC 247 ''UFC 247: Jones vs. Reyes'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 8, 2020, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Light Heavyweight Championshi ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Lingo faced Jacob Kilburn on January 16, 2021, at UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar. He won the bout in convincing fashion via unanimous decision. Lingo faced

Luis Saldaña Luis Saldaña (born January 27, 1991) is an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Having his first boxing match at eight ...

on August 21, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Lingo was scheduled to face Jonathan Pearce on February 19, 2022, at

UFC Fight Night 201 ''UFC Fight Night: Walker vs. Hill'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 201'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 59'' and ''UFC Vegas 48'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 19, 2022, at the UFC ...

. However, Lingo pulled out due to undisclosed reasons. As the last fight of his prevailing contract, Lingo was scheduled to face David Onama on July 9, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 39. However, Lingo pulled out during fight week. As the first fight of his new multi-fight contract, Lingo was expected to face Ricardo Ramos in a featherweight bout on March 11, 2023, at

UFC Fight Night 221 ''UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 221'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 79'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 11, 2023, at The Theater at Virgin Hotel ...

. However, the bout was cancelled after Ramos weighed in at 154 pounds, eight pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit. Lingo faced

Nate Landwehr Nathan Wade Landwehr (born June 7, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional mixed martial artist since 2012, he is also a former M-1 Global Feather ...

, replacing

Alex Caceres Alex Caceres (born June 20, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2008, Caceres mostly competed in his regional circuit ...

, on March 25, 2023, at UFC on ESPN 43. Lingo lost the bout via rear-naked choke at the end of the second round. Lingo next face Melquizael Costa at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Bueno Silva on July 15, 2023. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. On December 12, 2023, it was announced that Lingo was no longer on the UFC roster.

Post-UFC Career

In his first fight since leaving the UFC, Lingo faced undefeated prospect Cameron Teague in the main event of Fury FC 95 on August 2, 2024. He would lose the fight via technical knockout in the second round.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 9–4 , Cameron Teague , TKO (knee and punches) , Fury FC 95 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:57 ,

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC on ESPN: Vera vs. Sandhagen , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:11 ,

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

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, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Jacob Kilburn , Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

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, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Solo Hatley Jr. , KO (punches) , LFA 73 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:25 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Angel Luis Cruz , Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) , LFA 62 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:25 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Aaron Webb , KO (punches) , LFA 55 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:13 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Phil Gonzalez , Decision (unanimous) , LFA 40 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Omar Benjar , TKO (punches) , LFA 33 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:26 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Josh Foster , Submission (guillotine choke) , XKO 39 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:35 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Charles Williams , Decision (unanimous) , LFA 16 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lingo, Austin 1994 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male taekwondo practitioners American male Muay Thai practitioners American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu 21st-century American sportsmen