What happened to Julian Lane, The Ultimate Fighter contestant famous for saying, 'Let me bang bro'?

Julian Lane, The Ultimate Fighter contestant famous for saying, "Let me bang, bro," currently competes as a bare-knuckle boxer.

The 33-year-old is a veteran in the realm of combat sports. Julian Lane has been praised by many for persevering against all odds and successfully continuing his combat sports career after a grueling experience on season 16 of the UFC's TUF (The Ultimate Fighter) reality show.

---

Julian Lane has competed in both MMA and bare-knuckle boxing since his time on TUF

During the 16th season of TUF (The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson) in 2012, Julian Lane produced one of the most memorable moments in MMA history. With drinks and miscommunication setting the tone for the moment in the TUF house, a heated clash ensued between Julian Lane and fellow contestant Dom Waters.

Lane wanted to fight Waters right then and there, and the latter too appeared to be willing to fight Lane. Nevertheless, their fellow housemates held both fighters back.

This didn’t stop the war of words, however, as Lane continued to pursue Waters. Lane was unable to fight Waters that night, and he then had an emotional outburst where he ended up crying and uttering the phrase, “Let me bang, bro!”

The other fighters consoled him, even reassuring him that they will indeed let him ‘bang.’ Videos of the memorable TUF moment went viral, with Julian Lane gaining widespread notoriety in the MMA world due to the phrase and how the situation played out.

The moment has been used in countless memes and jokes in the MMA world ever since. Regardless, Julian Lane returned to TUF, participating in TUF 25 (The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption) in 2017.

This time around, the MMA world witnessed a more mature and composed version of the fighter. Despite being unable to win TUF 16 and TUF 25, Lane was praised for redeeming himself on TUF 25 after being targeted by his detractors for his emotional outburst on TUF 16.

---

Julian Lane spoke to the UFC about his career and the impact of his infamous phrase "Let me bang, bro!"

In an interview with the UFC’s official website back in 2020, Julian Lane opened up on his career and the impact of his infamous phrase, “Let me bang, bro!”

Speaking about the incident, Lane said:

“I just snapped and he could have explained he didn’t say anything to me, but he got all mad and took off all his stuff like he did say something about me…I still haven’t ever watched all the way through it.”

He also spoke about how he deals with detractors:

“It’s not like I’m ever going to hear the end of it, so it’s fine. I just embrace it, actually…I didn’t perform my best on the show so that was kind of like a lifeline and a blessing in disguise.”

Speaking about his preparedness for TUF 16, Lane said:

“At the time, I wasn’t mentally or physically ready for that…I could have been in and out of the UFC but instead I’m something they can look forward to for the future.”

Julian Lane’s most recent MMA fight was a first-round submission loss against Dakota Cochrane at DCS 42 - Rumble at the Ralston (May 2018). Furthermore, Lane’s most recent bare-knuckle boxing match was a split decision loss against former UFC mainstay Thiago Alves at Bare Knuckle FC 12 (September 2020).

As evidenced by Julian Lane’s recent social media posts, Lane has been calling out Jake ‘Brutal’ Bostwick to a fight in the BKFC. Would you like to see Julian Lane fight Bostwick or perhaps another fighter in bare-knuckle boxing or MMA? Sound off in the comments.

---

Please take 30 seconds to answer this survey so that we can better understand how to serve your MMA needs.