Austen. D. Lane is a MMA fighter from America. A former defensive end in the NFL, he now is a competitor in the Heavyweight division at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Born in Evanston, Illinois, United States on November 9, 1987, Austen Lane trained to become a football player. He arrived at the NFL in 2010 with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He gained 2-times First-team-All-OVC honors in 2008 and 2008. He was also named as the OVC Defensive Player of the Year in 2008. After retiring from the NFL in 2015, Austen Lane turned his attention towards MMA. His arrival to the UFC happened on DWCS 2.1 (Dana White’s Contender Series) on June 12, 2018. There, he faced fellow NFL player turned MMA fighter Greg Hardy who beat him via KO/TKO with a punch in Round 1. He is looking for a win after his last fight ended in a no-contest.
Lane presently has a MMA record of 16. He won 12 fights (11 by knockout and 1 by submission) and lost 3 fights, all by knockout. His last fight ended in a no-contest. He will again fight Justin Tafa as a rematch of their fight from June 24, 2023 at UFC 293: Adesanya vs Strickland on September 10, 2023.
Austen Lane’s NFL Teams
During his career as a football player in the NFL, Austen Lane has been on a number of different teams. Here is a look at all of the teams that he played for and how he performed with them.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Austen Lane arrived in the NFL with this team. He was selected by the team during the 2010 NFL Draft. He was used as a starter in 9 games for the team. He stayed with the team for 3 years until he was released by the team on June 13, 2013.
Austen Lane was very sad to hear that he had been released. Despite that, he had a pleasant conversation with his coach before leaving the team forever. He wrote about his feelings about getting released in Sports Illustrated.
Kansas City Chiefs
Austen Lane next found himself with the Kansas City Chiefs. They brought him in on June 14, 2013. Unfortunately, he suffered from a rib injury and got to play only limited time with the team during the preseason. As a result, he was eventually let go by the team.
Detroit Lions
The third team that Austen Lane found himself with in his NFL career. They signed him on November 5, 2013. Unfortunately, he was cut by the team on November 27, 2013.
Chicago Bears
Austen Lane next signed on with the Chicago Bears on February 17, 2014. He stayed with the team until he was released on August 30, 2014. Nevertheless, he was re-signed by the team in December 2014 and remained with them until his retirement.
Retirement from the NFL
Austen Lane announced his retirement from football and the NFL on August 3, 2021. He mentioned a few reasons behind it. He wanted to be close to his family as his son was already 5 months old back then and growing too fast for him. Moreover, no team at that time had shown any interest in recruiting him and he waited till August 1, 2015 for phone calls regarding teams’ interests in him. When that did not come, he decided to retire.
Lastly, Austen Lane believed that it would be beneficial for him if he decided to get interested in other activities. This eventually led him to decide to become a professional MMA fighter.
FAQs
A. Austen Lane’s age is 35 years.
A. Austen Lane’s last UFC fight resulted in a no-contest because he accidentally poked his opponent Justin Tafa in the eye. Consequently, “Bad Man” was not able to continue the fight.
A. Austen Lane is notable for being a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, he had also spent time with Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears before his retirement.
A. Austen Lane presently has a MMA record of 12-3-0 (1NC).
A. Austen Lane will fight Justin Tafa in a rematch from their last fight at UFC 293: Adesanya vs Strickland on September 10, 2023.
