Waiting Game at an End for Lucas Alexander

Lucas Alexander’s brief tenure in the Ultimate Fighting Championship might best be described as turbulent. It features a win, two losses, a failed weight cut, a fight cancellation and a surgery. Alexander prefers to leave it all in the rearview mirror.

“I live in the present,” he told Sherdog.com. “If someone is anxious about what happened in the past or about what may happen in the future, there’s no peace to be found in that. I focus on the present.”

Alexander will return to the Octagon for the first time in more than a year when he meets Bogdan Grad as part of the UFC Fight Night 250 undercard on Saturday at anb Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Brazilian featherweight last competed at UFC Fight Night 232, where he lasted just 91 seconds in a knockout loss to Jeka Saragih on Nov. 18, 2023. By the time he enters the cage, Alexander’s layoff will have lasted 441 days.

“I needed surgery,” he said, “and there were other issues. The UFC had a hard time booking me. I tried to fight in July. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. I tried for October. It didn’t happen. Then I was supposed to get on the China card in November. They couldn’t find me an opponent. Then I was supposed to be on the Los Angeles card in January, and they couldn’t fit me in. It happened when it was supposed to.”

Grad punched his ticket to the UFC via Dana White’s Contender Series, as he took a split decision from Michael Aswell in August. The 29-year-old Austria-based Romania native has rattled off three consecutive victories ahead of his promotional debut.

“I think having more experience is a factor, but sometimes, it makes no difference, so I’m not seeing it as an advantage,” Alexander said. “The advantage I see is the commitment I put into my training camp and the confidence I have in my coaches. They prepared me well for this clash. Of course, we study what he does well or badly so we can exploit it. Every fighter should do that. Whoever doesn’t do it is missing out on a great opportunity. We put our strategy together based on my skills versus his skills. We trained with that in mind. I’m expecting a win, whether by knockout, submission or decision.

Alexander operates out of the Fusion X-Cel camp in Ocoee, Florida, where he trains under coaches Julien Williams and Dominique Simmons.

“We’ve been working on my strength, mobility, flexibility, explosion and speed,” he said. “I’m very happy with the work we did during this camp. I’m looking forward to making the weight and to winning this fight. I’m very hungry for a win.”