Austin Hubbard loves training close to home for his next fight.
Hubbard will face Alexander Hernandez in a lightweight bout on the preliminary card of UFC 307 on Saturday at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Formerly a member of Elevation Fight Team in Aurora, Colorado, Hubbard recently transferred to Valle Flow Striking Academy in Bensenville, Illinois.
Mr. Hubbard has no bad relations with his former gym, and the move was largely prompted by the birth of his daughter, Charlie Jo, in May of this year. Hubbard still has to drive an hour and a half each way from his home in Dixon, Illinois, but “Thad” likes being close to family.
“It was too hard to go to Colorado for this camp and be away for seven or eight weeks, so I’m back home and training at Valle Flow Striking in Chicago,” Hubbard said. he told UFC.com.
“I love Elevation. They have been great for me and my career and have obviously contributed a lot to my development. I trained with them for eight years and as a fighter It helped me get to the next level, but working with a whole new group of organizations, everyone’s different styles, different coaching, almost completely reinventing myself and being completely new. It was definitely fun to go through all of that, and it was a really great switch. I feel like everything they do is going to help me a lot with VFS, and I’m really excited about it.
“It’s like driving 1,000 miles a week and it definitely gets old, but it’s nice to be able to come home and help with the baby and everything. So I think there are pros and cons. .”
UFC 307: Pereira vs. Rountree Jr. Saturday at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN+. Order now!
This will be Hubbard’s second UFC appearance since he was released in May 2022 due to a 3-4 promotion record. Hubbard earned two wins in the local scene and earned a spot on “The Ultimate Fighter 31.” Despite losing to Kurt Holobaugh in the final match of the season, Hubbard earned a contract and bounced back with a decision win over Michal Firak in April of this year. Hubbard, who is relieved to be back in the UFC, says he was fighting exclusively on the regional stage to pay off debts rather than for fun.
“It was really crazy,” Hubbard said. “From where I was mentally over the last two years to where I am now, I honestly never thought I would feel this good again. I don’t think I had any desire to fight anymore when I was going through it. I was just completely broken and had problems with life in general. It was very expensive to be in Colorado trying to get back into the UFC because I had a lot of debt. That was the only motivation for me to keep fighting, to pay off the debt for my family. , I didn’t enjoy it that much anymore. But I went through it all, went through “The Ultimate Fighter,” did well, and now I’m back in the UFC and winning, And now I’m at a point in my life where I’m really starting to feel happy again and I’m grateful for everything I’ve been through. Because it definitely changed me and helped me evolve as a person to some extent. ”
Hubbard has never won back-to-back fights in the UFC, but he is confident he can do it. And to do that, as you learned in your first stint, don’t ignore your next opponent.
“From what I’ve experienced so far, especially through the first stint, I know I can string together wins, but when I get ahead of myself I seem to have a tendency to stumble, at least in my experience,” he said. said. Said. “So I literally don’t think ahead beyond what’s right in front of me in the contract, and that’s Alex Hernandez. Yeah, everything else is in the back of my mind, but right now in the forefront It’s purely Alex Hernandez and nothing else. I believe we can set a winning streak or move up the rankings, so this is a step in that direction. That’s the first step I have to take and that’s the only thing I’m focused on.”
