Former NFL player turned radio personality, Austen Lane chases UFC dream at Combat Night’s July 24 event
Austen Lane knows a thing or two about time management.
The 33-year-old wears a few different hats as a morning talk show and sports radio personality, as well compiling an 8-3 professional mixed martial arts record. The former Jacksonville Jaguar will meet fellow heavyweight Rashaun Jackson in the Combat Night: Clash of the Titans headliner in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, July 24.
Lane manages hosting one show in the morning and another in the afternoon. He still is able to train in pursuit of making his octagon debut.
“It’s really all about balance, all about prioritizing your time,” Lane said.
“I shouldn’t be sacrificing my time, my energy, my body and my well being if I don’t want to be the best in the world.”
Austen Lane found his routine
Lane turned professional in 2017 with the hopes of making it to the UFC. He came close to signing in 2018, suffering a first-round TKO loss to fellow NFL player and now-UFC heavyweight Greg Hardy on Dana White’s Contender Series in June 2018.
Hardy is currently 4-4 with one no contest inside the octagon.
Lane continues to chase the goal, going 4-1 in his last five appearances. The Wisconsin native managed to excel in the journalism field during this stretch.
He broke on the radio scene by co-hosting “Action Sports Jax” with Brent Martineau on ESPN 690. He is still hosting the show two and a half years later. In just the last four months, Lane became a co-host of “Meghan and Austen Mornings” on 95.1 WAPE, a Jacksonville music station.
Lane is the first to admit that talking is not the most exhausting profession. With that being said, he is still training for fighting between shows.
“You only have so many hours in the day, so it’s about how you make due with that,” Lane said. “I found a way to balance my time. Once I find that routine, I stick to it.”
Steps toward the octagon
His routine appears to be paying off, riding a two-fight win streak. He most recently earned his first-career submission victory after submitting Brad Taylor via first-round rear-naked choke at Combat Night Pro 20 last March.
Lane will headline a Combat Night event for the first time in his career. He meets Jackson, who is 5-3 after losing back-to-back to current UFC fighters Chase Sherman and Chris Barnett.
Lane refuses to look past his fight with Jackson, but the dream of stepping inside the octagon is still there.
“I am just focused on the present right now and excited for the challenge at hand,” Lane said. “The end game is to get to the elite and the elite is the UFC. When I started this journey, five or six years ago, that was the goal from day one.”
Making it all worth it
Lane learned how to manage his time effectively during his collegiate and professional football careers. Football then gave him an outlet in radio where he now calls Jacksonville home.
Balancing training camp and radio is not an easy task. Lane admitted training is sometimes the worst part of the day because he is practicing being uncomfortable.
Lane considers the fight the fun part. The chance to show what he does with his time before the contest is just days away.
“When the fight happens, that is when you have fun, that is when you feel comfortable,” Lane said. “The goal at the end of the day is to get to the big show and to justify all the time, energy and effort I spent on it.”
