Athletes
Modestas Bukauskas Always Believed In Himself
Riding A 3-Fight Win Streak Into UFC Fight Night: Imavov vs Borralho, Modestas Bukauskas Is Keen To Keep Climbing The Ladder
Modestas Bukauskas has been getting yelled at a lot during the training camp for his Saturday meeting with Paul Craig in Paris. Well, you might not want to yell at a 6-foot-3, 205-pound man too often, so let’s just say he’s been getting several gentle reminders that as well as he may be doing against Craig, all the Scottish veteran needs is one mistake to erase all that good work and send “The Baltic Gladiator” home with a loss.
“Well, my coaches have just been nagging at me the whole time to do exactly what you're saying, to stay focused and sharp literally the whole time because you let one thing slide or one thing slip and as you've seen, he throws that triangle up from many different angles,” said Bukauskas. “So if you make one mistake, he can capitalize. And also, he's very durable and very tough. It's very hard to put him away. So obviously we're making sure that we're just chopping down a tree. Just keep digging away at it and then slowly it'll fall down.”
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Bukauskas knows how quickly a fight can turn, and he’s seen both sides of that equation in the same match when he fought Marcin Prachnio a little over a year ago. Seemingly cruising to victory in the second round, Bukauskas caught a kick to the head from Prachnio that sent him into autopilot mode. A round later, he pulled out an arm triangle choke and scored only the third submission win of his 24-fight pro MMA career. He didn’t get a Performance of the Night bonus, but he gained some valuable knowledge.
“I've definitely matured a lot, especially since my fight where I went just a little bit mad and got caught with a head kick,” he said. “You realize you're fighting people that are the best in the world, and even though the cards look like they're in your favor, they can pull something out of the hat. So yeah, I've definitely worked to prepare myself to stay disciplined the whole time. And I think that’s been the theme of my whole camp, just being extremely disciplined in all areas, and I think that that will translate into the way I fight also.”
Is that easier said than done?
“We'll see, won't we?”
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Bukauskas laughs, but the reality is, that for all the work in the gym, it’s got to be hard to stay completely on point and in the moment for 15 minutes when you factor in fatigue, how the fight’s going, and the thought of when is this thing going to be over.
“We've actually been working on that during training camp, and there's been some horrible sessions, but I definitely think that will make me as prepared as you can be for those particular types of situations,” he said. “But I'm also making sure that my fitness is top notch to make sure that your mind doesn't become fuzzy and blurry when you're in there, because a lot of the times it's fatigue that makes cowards of us all. So yeah, I've been working hard to make sure that that is never an issue and that I can stay with a clear frame of mind and just to be in a flow state when I'm in there. So I've been working on a lot of things and I'm excited to let that all unfold.”
Modestas Bukauskas Knocks Out Rafael Cerqueira In Round 1 | UFC Seattle
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Modestas Bukauskas Knocks Out Rafael Cerqueira In Round 1 | UFC Seattle
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That’s the physical part, and the 31-year-old Lithuania native has got that locked down. But despite winning five of six fights in his second UFC stint, including three in a row, what will take him to the next level in his career is the mental game, something he spends as much time on outside the gym as he does left hooks and heel hooks inside it. So when he’s scrolling through social media at night, it’s not a method of relaxation; he’s working on his craft.
“I've noticed a lot of the times a load of motivating things and a lot of motivating quotes that all revolve around the same thing, how a lot of people have failed a lot of times, but they're the ones that are the most successful,” he said. “They're the ones that have had the highest highs and the lowest lows, but they still end up being on top because they've learned from the mistakes, they've learned from their errors, and you have to make mistakes in order to be the greatest. It's a common theme amongst all the things that I've been watching and it just really rings true.”
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Bukauskas talks of the story of basketball star Giannis Antetokounmpo and his rise from humble beginnings to an NBA championship.
“Even with all the stuff that he had to go through to get to where he is and become the MVP, I realized this is part and parcel of being the greatest. So you have to go through these things and it's the ones who show resilience from these situations that are able to go on and do great things because they're the ones who learn from their mistakes and ultimately use it to propel them forward as opposed to bring them down. So it's just been a common theme and I'm very grateful for that. And like I say, I truly feel like I'm coming into my own and I'm coming into the proper prime. I felt like I was probably still a little baby when I was 27, and now I'm just becoming more mature and becoming more of a man in every aspect of my life and I feel like it can only expand even more. So I'm looking forward to this journey.”
But could the former high school basketball standout beat Antetokounmpo one on one back in the day?
“Hell no,” Bukauskas laughs. “He would've been dunking on me before I could even say defense, mate. That dude would be running circles around me.”
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I guess a man must know his limitations, but the good thing about Bukauskas is that he’s in a situation where he can control his destiny and can reach the heights he’s always set for himself. That’s a powerful feeling to have, and he’s embracing it.
“I've always believed in myself, so this is nothing different,” he said. “Even when I got cut from the UFC and things weren't looking too good for me, I always knew that I was meant be fighting at that level, and I was meant to be the best. I just needed to figure out how to get there. And I feel like God's plan and God's path has always been very clear and I just believed in it, kept working hard, kept learning from my mistakes. And yeah, I want to leave a legacy, and the comeback story is part of it, but it doesn't really get solidified until you go out there and you win the belt. So I've got a lot of very exciting things to look forward to and it motivates me a lot. That's what pushes me forward, that's what gets me out of bed.”
UFC Fight Night: Imavov vs Borralho took place live from Accor Arena in Paris, France on September 6, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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