It's been roughly nine years since Austen Lane took the field for an NFL game. But the former Jacksonville Jaguars fifth-round pick is most certainly back in the big leagues.
Lane, who played three seasons for the Jaguars and one for the Detroit Lions, defeated the previously unbeaten Richard Jacobi via first-round technical knockout Tuesday night in a heavyweight bout on the Dana White Contender Series to earn an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract.
The 34-year-old Lane (12-3) stopped Jacobi (6-1-1) after a ferocious series of right hands at the 4:34 mark of the opening stanza. Not long after, White, the UFC president, announced Lane had earned a contract with the promotion.
"Austen Lane. First-round knockout. Second time on the contender. Congratulations, Austen, you did it buddy," White said.
The Dana White Contender Series is a show that features five bouts per episode with burgeoning mixed-martial-artists competing not just to win their fights, but in the hopes of earning a UFC deal from White.
This was Lane's second time on the DWCS, having lost in June of 2018 to Greg Hardy via technical knockout. However, Lane fought his way back to another opportunity as he won seven of nine bouts and five straight entering Tuesday. His TKO of Jacobi was Lane's sixth win in a row, but truly was seven years in the making.
"I mean, in totality, it's been a longer journey than that," Lane told the UFC's Laura Sanko when he was asked about coming back from his defeat in 2018. "It starts back in 2015, Jan. 1st, sitting in a small-town bar in Iola, Wisconsin, realizing I can't play football anymore because I'm not good enough. That night I text my coach, said, 'I promise you one day I'm going to the UFC.' And ever since then, when I type something about MMA on Twitter, whatever the case may be, I always end it with, 'I promise.' And tonight, I made good on that promise."
Selected at No. 153 overall in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Jaguars, Lane played in 11 games as a rookie and started nine for an 8-8 squad under head coach Jack Del Rio. Over three seasons in Duval, Lane played in 28 games with 17 starts, recording 66 tackles and three sacks. He then played a season with the Lions, seeing action in just two games during the 2013 season. Thereafter, he spent time with the Chicago Bears and then the Kansas City Chiefs, but never recorded a snap. That all led to his newfound career in MMA.
Lane first fought in November of 2015, beginning a 5-0 run as an amateur. He began his professional MMA career at a torrid pace, dispatching his first four opponents with first-round stoppages. His undefeated run ended with the loss to Hardy, though. Four years later, he's back to winning and back to racking up impressive wins as each of his six straight wins have come by stoppage.
At the onset of Tuesday's bout, Lane ate a straight right early, but wore it well and continued to work from the outside as the quicker of the two on his feet. He then landed a low blow that paused the bout for 90 seconds. Utilizing his kicks early, Lane threw a couple of one-two punch combos that brought him into a clinch. Jacobi worked a takedown off a leg sweep and worked into top position from there. Lane was able to tie up Jacobi's arms, though, to limit any offense. The fight remained on the ground with Jacobi on top for a while with little action before Lane was able to power his opponent over. With Lane now on top, Jacobi had him in full guard and then briefly worked for an armbar before Lane dropped back into Jacobi's closed guard. Lane eventually pulled out of Jacobi's guard and slipped another armbar attempt to set up the finish.
From a standing position, Lane deftly moved to the right and came down with a brutal right hammer fist and then landed a savage straight right. Hovering over Jacobi, Lane rained down a barrage of rights and looked up to referee Mark Smith to step in. When the stoppage didn't come, Lane dropped to a knee and delivered another buffet of rights to a curled-up Jacobi until the bout was finally called to a halt.
"I'm always down to fight, I can't wait," Lane said when he was asked when he'd like to make his UFC debut. "Wherever they want to fly me, wherever they want to put me, I'm down to fight, I'm down to show up, I'm down to scrap. That's what I like to do, that's what I do best."
