“It’s all right with me because I know there’s a ton of people out there, but it’s one of those things where if I’m not on it at the time you did it, I plan on being on it eventually because I’m always in the mindset that if I’m not up to someone’s standards now, I will be,” England said.
The former D-1 wrestler was already on the UFC’s short list earlier in the year before taking a main event slot at FAC 15, a fight he might have been able to skip.
“They’ve talked about me being a last-second fill in like, back in February, but one of the times I had literally just gotten laser eye surgery like four days before,” England said. “That was just terrible timing. I think I’ve been on the bubble as a last-second fill-in option, but nothing official.”
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Missing his short-notice opportunity, England’s new mindset was, “nothing in the way now.”
No eye surgeries, no other fights and no other opportunities will stand in his way again, especially not after a first round, main event stoppage.
“You have opportunities in life and either you make it happen or you don’t, and so it’s like, I’m going to be as prepared as I can and if I get that opportunity I want to crush it,” England said.
Earning a call from the UFC is every regional fighter’s dream but, for England, it’s quickly becoming a necessity if he wants to continue his career. He feels there’s no doubt he’s UFC-caliber, but he’s quickly running out of opponents to prove it against.
