When Ultimate Fighter contestant Steven Siler kicked off his UFC career with a 3-0 start, he probably didn’t envision that in 2015 he would be outside of the organization.
A 0-3 drought in late 2013 and 2014 ended up with Siler finding himself in a position to fight his way back to the UFC. Although he dropped his initial post-UFC fight against a tough Desmond Green at Titan FC 32, Siler has looked like a resurgent fighter recently, having finished his last three opponents in the first frame.
Siler is set to return to Titan FC on September 19th, taking on an undefeated Austin Springer. An impressive win over a fighter with lot of potential like Springer could be the path Siler could take back to the UFC.
“It’s just something I’m hoping for,” Siler said on The MMA Report Live. “I mean I had a winning record in the UFC. I should never have even been out of the UFC. I did have that one little slip-up against Des Green out of the UFC, but now I’m back on the winning track. I’m just going to keep on doing what I’m doing. Sooner or later, they’re going to have to take me back.”
Siler’s losing streak came to head after the Desmond Green loss. Following his fourth consecutive loss, the 28-year-old decided to reevaluate himself before taking his next fight.
“I did take some time off,” Siler said. “I’ve been fighting for ten and a half years, and not taking one break ever really took a tool on me. My back was always in pain. Mentally, everything. I needed to take a step back. I actually had to go get a real job where I could start getting some income coming in where I’m not stressing [about] when I’m going to fight again.”
“Fighting become more fun again.”
In addition to taking time off and regaining that motivation to fight, Siler’s break allowed his lingering body injuries to heal.
“I do know that I’ve always had back problems where I can’t even bend too much, and the fact that those for the most part have gone away, my sparring has gone through the roof,” Siler said. I feel quicker than ever. I’m able to go with the likes of Court McGee, Josh Burkman, Brock Jardine, all these guys. I feel like I’m doing really, really good against these guys, just being quicker than them.”
That period of rest and reflection may actually end up being looked at as a focal point in his career with hindsight. He started 2015 off with putting away Brandon Hempleman and Jack Montgomery with strikes, and just a few weeks ago, submitting Joshua Tyler with a rear-naked choke. Since the Tyler fight just took place, Siler hasn’t had the greatest amount of time to prepare a particular gameplan for his opponent at Titan FC 35.
“I haven’t been able to see much of [Austin Springer],” Siler said. “I just had that Josh Tyler fight a week and a half ago. I was more worried about that fight because it was coming up sooner, and now I kinda took a couple of days off, made sure I stayed completely healthy, and I haven’t really had a chance to look into Austin.”
Siler expects to examine Springer’s skill-set during fight week with his coaches, but he’s more than confident that he’ll be able to impose his game on his opponent and extend his winning streak outside of the UFC.
“I’m just going to do what I do, and I know if I do what I can, it’ll be another quick finish like these other three have been. Hopefully, another first round, really quick finish because I hate working overtime.”