After a shaky start to his career, Austin Jones looks to put himself on the UFC’s radar with a victory over Calen Born at LFA 57 on Friday Night.
In January of 2017 Austin Jones had a 3-4 record after losing a split decision to Liam O’Neill at Feirce FC 4. Realizing that stress was prohibiting success, Jones needed to find a way to enjoy fighting again and push through the mental block.
“… When you start off with that record it’s fight or flight. You can either give in and quit the sport completely or just keep pushing. Not quit. You just stop caring about what people think so much. There’s so many outsiders…”
Jones has focused improving himself not only in and outside of the cage, but internally as well. Understanding the lifestyle he needs to achieve his goals may not seem desirable for most people. “Honestly, I read a lot of books. It sounds like such a cliche thing to do, but all the positive podcasts I listen to. Lots of meditation. I’ve incorporated to my game. Just really those things people don’t enjoy doing as much. I just started doing those things. It can get really tedious. Obviously, I could be out partying with my friends. Doing all the extra stuff that really doesn’t help you become a better fighter. At the end of the day it’s just the joy of training. We put too much pressure on ourselves as fighters…”
Jones credits a lot of his mental growth to teammate, and UFC light heavyweight title contender, Anthony Smith. Unsurprisingly, Jones thinks Smith has what it takes to beat champion Jon Jones. ” I think Anthony can catch him in the third round. Just not even being biased as a teammate. The difference between Anthony and other guys is Athony’s willingness to pull the trigger…”
Check out the complete interview below and hear Jones talk more about is career turnaround, training at Factory X, and his official prediction for his LFA 57 fight against Calen Born.
Stick with MMANews.com for the latest on Austin Jones, LFA 57, and all of the fighters over at Factory X.
