Murray State University Athletics
Inside The Stables: Lane - From MSU to NFL to UFC
10/4/2022 6:18:00 PM | General
Former Racer football star Austen Lane won his UFC contract on second shot at the Dana White Contender Series
"Inside The Stables" is new regular feature on GoRacers.com that highlights the off-field stories of the 2022 Murray State football team. This week's story is written by Athletics Communications GA Adit Wratsangka.
Murray State Hall of Famer, Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end and now, Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter. Austen Lane won his UFC contract at the Dana White Contender Series with a technical knockout win over Richard Jacobi, Sept. 20.
Lane finished the fight in the first round—not without difficulty. Jacobi took Lane down midway through the round and took control of the grappling on the ground.
“We knew was a great striker with great kicks, but we knew he was susceptible on the ground so when he took me there I was surprised,” Lane said.
“I practice a lot on my back in terms of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu since it is the weakest aspect of my grappling. While on my back, in terms knowing his jiu jitsu credentials, it doesn’t concern me.”
Low and behold, in Jacobi’s attempt for a submission, Lane was able to capitalize off his back and take top control before finishing Jacobi in the final 30 seconds of the first round.
Shook off the armbar and went for the finish ?? #DWCS pic.twitter.com/WttnEiFrLj
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 21, 2022
How did he get into mixed martial arts?
It was in the off-season of his second year with the Jaguars when defensive line coach, Joe Cullen, suggested him to try practicing combat sports to improve his hand speed as a defensive end.
Lane was practicing boxing in the gym when a purple belt Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner walked up to him. The 160-pound man pulled Lane aside and asked if he wants to spar Jiu Jitsu.
“I said yeah. I didn’t know anything about Jiu Jitsu outside from just watching it, but I’m 260 pounds, at the time, and pretty confident of my athleticism,” he said. “He may have technique but I’m just going to best him because I’m so much bigger and stronger.”
Lane got submitted in less than 30 seconds.
After that sparring session, Lane started practicing not just boxing but mixed martial arts as a package. He trained every off-season to the point that he knew that he will be competing in MMA once his career in the NFL is over.
Lane retired from professional football in 2015 and had his first amateur fight that same year.
Only two years since his amateur debut and a year after his professional, Lane got the golden opportunity to fight in the Dana White Contender Series.
The Dana White Contender Series or the DWCS is an MMA event where winners that impresses UFC owner, Dana White, earn a contract to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Lane was matched up against fellow former NFL player and ever polarizing figure, Greg Hardy.
“There was a lot going into that fight,” Lane said. “We came from a similar background in the NFL but he was painted as the bad guy while I am the good guy so the fans wanted me to win. There was a lot of external burden.”
Lane fell short on his first crack at the DWCS as Hardy stopped him in the first round.
“It was a hard pill to swallow, but I needed that fight,” he said.
“It’s when you got backed into a corner when you have to choose either to back away or continue by learning from your mistakes.”
Needless to say, Lane chose to continue and make changes in his approach to fighting, mostly in the mental standpoint.
Lane used to emotionally bring his family, friends and city on his back when playing football as an energy boost—but in MMA, he realized he needed a different approach.
“I’m a big family man, but my family can’t fight for me, I can only fight for myself. So when that cage door closes, I’m just carrying me in there now. I have a clear mind and I am certain that I can take of myself.”
“After the fight, of course, I show my thanks to my coaches, family and everyone that has been part of my life,” he said.
He attributed part of his mental fortitude to his time at Murray State.
“Murray State took a chance with me, a skinny kid from a small town in Wisconsin. And during the draft process, I saw people talk about how we are a small school and that put a chip on my shoulder” he said.
“It was all about coaches realizing the potential in me. And when you combine that with a chip on shoulder, the sky is the limit.”
Lane went on a five-fight win-streak and was coming off a first round technical knockout win over Eric Lunsford when he got his second shot at the DWCS.
He said the preparation for that fight against Jacobi was the hardest training camp he has ever done.
“I broke my nose three weeks before that fight,” Lane said. “Then I re-broke it by getting elbowed in the nose while practicing grappling a week away to the fight.”
Lane said he was not 100-percent, at least in the facial area, but there was no way he was going to miss another opportunity to get into the UFC.
To him, winning the UFC contract justifies a lot of the sacrifices that he has made.
“Say I lost to Jacobi, I wouldn’t have stopped. I would be forty five and would still chasing that dream because I promised to myself that I would.”
After the fight, Lane took all the emotions in without much celebrating. Something that Lane said younger him would not have done.
Including his TKO over Jacobi, Lane is currently on a six-fight win-streak with a 100-percent finish rate. He has a total of 11 knockouts and one submission.
Lane said if there is one fighter that he always wanted to fight, it is Brock Lesnar.
Since that is no longer an option, Lane said the current number one heavyweight contender, Cyril Gane, is a dream matchup he is really interested in since Gane is the fighter he based his fighting style out of.
Lane played as a defensive end for the Racers from 2006 to 2009, setting the school's single-season sack record (12), as well as the single-season tackles for loss (22) in 2008 as a junior. He was inducted to the hall of fame in 2019.
In between fights, Lane hosts a radio show called Meghan and Austen Mornings on the 95.1 WAPE-FM in Jacksonville.
