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Lance Gibson Jr. | Destiny Fulfilled
Lightweight Reflects On Long Road To The Octagon, First UFC Win
It’s not particularly surprising that Lance Gibson Jr. became a professional mixed martial artist, but the road that led him to that path and reaching the UFC when he did has played an integral role in his ability to turn in a pair of impressive performances to open his career inside the Octagon.
“Growing up in Seattle, it was basketball and football,” began the 31-year-old lightweight, who etched his name and his father’s name in the history books in March when he secured a first-round stoppage win over Chase Hooper, making him and his dad, Lance Gibson Sr., the first father-son combo to each earn victories in the UFC. “I wrestled, obviously trained, so it was more just something I always did and was naturally always good at it. It’s not that I didn’t think I could do it —I just didn’t put the 100-percent intention to it at the time, because it wasn’t the time, because I was 13, 14, 15.”
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While his dad’s final fight came just a few weeks before his seventh birthday, even when his father retired from being an active competitor, Gibson remained immersed in the sport. His father operated a gym and coached, helming multiple training camps for former UFC champion Rampage Jackson when Junior was in high school, which was also around the time that his stepmom, Julia Budd, was making the transition into the sport after competing in Muay Thai.
Tagging along to those training camps in Orange County with Jackson and watching Budd land in Strikeforce, where her second, third, and fourth professional fights came against —in order —Amanda Nunes, Germaine de Randamie, and Ronda Rousey, started to lock in that venturing into “the family business” might be in Gibson’s future. As Budd transitioned to Invicta FC, Gibson had moved on to wrestling collegiately at Arizona State University and was able to share insights from a coaching perspective, as well as serve as a training partner and first-hand observer to the ins-and-outs of how a first-rate promotion operates.
Each instance drove it home more and more that fighting was what he wanted to do as well.
“It was a sprinkle along the way to keep me motivated enough, to enjoy the training, to have the dawning myself,” he said. “If people are telling me I can do this, I’ll only last so long, but when I wake up and realize, ‘This is what I want,’ I think I’m unstoppable.
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“It’s about following your passion, and if it had been forced upon me, my passion would have been thrown in the trash a long time ago.
“Having those experiences, getting used to everything was a major inspiration for me because (Julia) was kicking butt and I’m watching her train hard every day, training hard with her every day, so that was a major, major inspiration,” he added. “And then obviously her winning and defending a title —that really drives it home.”
After a 4-0 amateur career and two wins on the regional circuit, Gibson eventually landed in Bellator himself, with a five-fight winning streak before suffering his first career loss. He asked to be released soon after, shifting his focus to competing in the UFC, and returning to the Pacific Northwest regional circuit, where he earned a pair of first-round stoppage wins to advance to 9-1 for his career.
When it was announced that the UFC was returning to Seattle in February 2025 following a nearly 12-year absence, Gibson Jr. donned a Ken Griffey Jr. Roots of Fight jacket and filmed a video outside Climate Pledge Arena, the host venue, explaining his connection to the area, his lineage in the sport, and his readiness to test his skills inside the Octagon, but the call never came.
Eight months later, when the promotion rolled into Vancouver, he met with the UFC matchmakers and asked what more he needed to do in order to get a shot, and while hearing he was doing all the right things felt odd given an opportunity had not materialized, the lightweight hopeful took the news in stride and continued to keep himself ready, believing that something would eventually come his way.
“When I called out to fight on the (previous Seattle card) and didn’t get signed, a lot of people would go into that mindset that they’re pissed off because this, this, and that,” began Gibson Jr. “But if I truly believe my opportunity is gonna come, it will come when it’s meant to, and if it does, I better be in the right positive mindset and energy to seize that opportunity when it comes.”
Last December, opportunity knocked.
Gibson Jr. made his UFC debut on four days’ notice, stepping in against veteran lightweight King Green on the final Fight Night event of the year, landing on the wrong side of a split decision loss, but giving a good account of himself under the circumstances.
“It was designed for me to get that opportunity,” he said. “Sean (Shelby) came up to us after my fight and told us, ‘So you know —nobody wanted this fight, that’s why I got the call. Nobody wanted it, even guys on the roster. He’s a hard guy to fight, and they’re gonna say you looked bad unless you can find a way to knock him out, if you can catch him.
Though the circumstances and result were not what he had envisioned for his UFC debut, the short-notice opportunity allowed Gibson to get his foot in the door and to step into the Octagon, making him and his father, at the time, just the third father-son duo to both compete in the UFC; Chris and Lucas Brennan have since become the fourth.
And then in March of this year, the promotion returned to the Pacific Northwest, and a year after lobbying to get on the card and not getting a call, Gibson Jr. was booked to compete opposite fellow local Chase Hooper. The pair got after it straight away, trading kicks before Hooper looked to secure a single leg and was served a collection of elbows to the side of the head in return.
As a chorus of “Let’s Go Hooper!” echoed through the arena, Gibson landed an elbow to the head in tight, coming out of a clinch that rocked the former Dana White’s Contender Series development prospect. A series of kicks left Hooper retreating and covering up, and a pair of knees to the head after defending a panicked attempt to grapple proved to be the finishing blows.
“It felt surreal when it happened, obviously, and after it happened, it’s exactly what I anticipated,” Gibson Jr. said of the win. “That’s why I sat outside the arena and called for it, that’s why I worked through the dark times of not being in an organization, trying to get into the UFC because I knew we’re gonna be the third father and son.
“I didn’t know about the first father and son to win — that was huge —and it’s felt like destiny. It felt like it was already written and I was stepping into my power,” he added. “I’m kind of a perfectionist, so it’s hard for me to give myself credit, but for once, I could give myself credit because, against all odds, I was able to get the job done. I was an underdog; people counted me out because of a King Green fight that I took on three days’ notice, but they’ll see in time; it’s all good.”
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Following the victory, Gibson Jr. turned the boos into cheers in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier, getting choked up and speaking from the heart about how much the moment meant to him —a kid born up the road at Swedish Hospital, who grew up in Federal Way.
“I really just spoke from the heart, and that’s why I got choked up,” Gibson Jr. said about the understandably emotional victory and interview. “I'm not afraid to express my emotions —I believe that’s a man’s true strength is to be able to express themselves —and I talked about it a bunch of times, but when I was sitting outside of that arena as a kid, it was like I made that kid proud; it was like it was a time warp for me.
“It was really like I was on autopilot too because that elbow, I practiced it so many times; that exact elbow, those exact knees.”
Ironically, they were similar to the knees his father used to finish Jermain “Bam Bam” Andre at UFC 24 in Lake Charles, Louisiana, 26 years earlier.
As much as he’s proud of himself and the moment he now gets to share with his father and his team, what really drives all of this home and makes it even more special is that he gets to be a major role model for his two nephews, who have watched as “Uncle Lance” bet on himself, committed to his goals, and made dreams into reality.
“They think I’m a modern-day superhero,” he said with a huge smile. “I think it’s great to have a role model like that, and obviously, I had Julia and my dad, but I also had my big brother. My older brother, Jordan Flowers, was a savage when it came to football — any sport that he did, he was a complete savage —and I got to look up to him, and it helped inspire me to be great at whatever I do.
“For me, I’m honored to be able to show them that you can achieve your dreams that you set out at that age. You can achieve them, and your uncle is doing it. I’m paving the way for you, so whatever you wanna be, don’t give up, put in the work, and stay committed to it.”
That’s what he did, and now Gibson Jr. heads into the back half of the year with a ton of momentum, coming off a massive first-round stoppage win and poised to continue making noise in the lightweight division.
