JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s a debut in Jacksonville all over again for Austen Lane.
He has fought in other professional mixed martial arts fights before, but this will be his first time in the big octagon as a fighter in the UFC. Thirteen years ago, Lane made another professional debut in Jacksonville.
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Lane began was drafted in the fifth round by the Jaguars in 2010. He played three seasons with Jacksonville and then bounced around to a few different teams. Now, he’s back in his adopted hometown and ready for his first UFC fight. Lane (12-3) will face heavyweight Justin Tafa (6-3) on Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in UFC’s Fight Night.
Lane earned a UFC contract after a win in Dana White’s “Contender Series” last year.
“I haven’t really thought about it too much in terms of what I’m going to be feeling and everything but obviously I’m excited to set foot in the real octagon now,” Lane said. “... To me, it’s good to justify another goal that I had. And I still have a lot of goals to achieve so it’s nothing to get caught up on or anything like that. But yeah, I’m excited for it.”
How did Lane make the transition from football to MMA?
As Lane was bouncing between teams, he began training to help get him ready for football. Being a defensive end, MMA helped Lane get stronger and bigger to improve his talent on the field. After he retired from pro football, Lane started his amateur career in MMA. He went 5-0 before making the jump to professional, with his defining moment a first round TKO of Richard Jacobi last September earning a UFC contract.
Lane was scheduled to originally make his UFC debut in February fighting Junior Tafa. A biceps injury forced Lane to have surgery and he was unable to fight. Now his first UFC fight will be against the younger brother of Junior Tafa, Justin Tafa.
Justin Tafa has a record of 3-3 in the UFC and 6-3 overall. While this is Lane’s first UFC fight, he currently has a consecutive professional winning streak of six fights.
Lane said fighting here in Jacksonville where he is accustomed to having played professional football and living here for the past 10 years is an advantage.
“I’m very accustomed to Jacksonville and accustomed to where I’m going to be fighting and those are competitive advantages,” Lane said. “That’s not pressure to me, man, that’s an advantage so I’m very excited.”