It’s not every day that an NFL player trades in his helmet and pads for a pair of MMA gloves, but Austen Lane has done just that. The former defensive end, who once battled on the gridiron, is opening up about the difference in mentality needed to be a top player in both sports.
Lane has been a part of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, and Chicago Bears. He was drafted by the Jaguars in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft and spent three seasons with the team. Over his NFL career, Lane earned approximately $2.37 million, including his salary and signing bonuses.
While the financial limitations of his contract are as yet undisclosed, Lane has been more than open talking about the pros and cons of being a former professional footballer in MMA.
Speaking to Inside Fighting, Lane elaborated further on the subject and said, “I think the biggest con of being a former football player and then becoming a fighter is that I was programmed very early on, in football a play lasts 5 to 7 seconds. So if you see someone in front of you, you go at someone you try to kick his a*s and then you do that again.”
While the fight game does allow for that in one way or another, the consequences can be far direr.
” I had to learn to be a little bit more patient. You can’t have that football mentality.”, he added.
But this doesn’t mean the two sports are that different, especially for a defensive end like him.
Thankfully, having played all his life in that position, Lane has been conditioned to deal with collisions in every play. Not only that, since he was going up against offensive linemen, he was used to taking on 300-pound six-foot-six giants every play, which helped him deal with the power of bigger opponents.
The UFC heavyweight prospect also admitted that he believed nothing could offer him a stronger adrenaline rush than the NFL – that is, until he knocked someone out in the octagon!
No better feeling than fighting, claims Lane
“I was definitely more of an emotional player. I was the guy going out on the field talking smack to fans and everything.”, Lane asserted. But while football fired him up in the moment, fighting has made him a calmer, cooler, and more collected competitor.
Lane made his NFL debut in Dallas, stepping onto the field in front of 70,000 fans booing him—an unforgettable experience. But surprisingly, he says knocking someone out in a small Jacksonville bar with just 150 people watching gave him an even bigger rush.
“The moment I knocked that dude out, that feeling was so much higher than my first NFL start,” he explained. “In terms of an emotional rush, it’s football. But after it’s over and you get a win, there is no better feeling than that in fighting.”, Lane elaborated on his emotional state.
The UFC heavyweight hasn’t exactly had a dream start to his mixed martial arts career, having only won one of his last 3 fights in the UFC. His debut against Justin Tafa at a UFC: Fight Night in 2023 ended in a no-contest after he ended up poking his opponent in the eye, making him unable to continue.
The two would feud once again a few months later in September, this time at a PPV (UFC 293). Unfortunately, Tafa would knock him with a right to the head, forcing the referee to step in and stop the bout. His third fight in the UFC also finished on a similar note.
However, in October last year, he managed to get the first win of his UFC career against Robelis Despaign via a unanimous decision. He will now hope to get another win at UFC Fight Night: Kape vs. Almabayev over the weekend.
