UFC Hall of Famer Rashad Evans was fond of using the phrase “embrace the suffering.” Current light heavyweight prospect Modestas Bukauskas can relate.
“I enjoy being different from the rest of the world,” said Bukauskas of getting into fight mode as soon as his Saturday bout with Rafael Cerqueira was confirmed in mid-December. That meant no Christmas or New Year’s celebrations, just work and complete focus on the task ahead. “Everyone's chilling, eating, having a good time, and I'm like, no alcohol and trying to steer away from the bad food. I'm training hard, but it's good. I like it in a weird way. I've gotten very comfortable with suffering, and I feel like it makes me a better fighter.”
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That’s always the goal. The better the 31-year-old gets, the better chance he has of beating the best 205-pounders in the world. And once he does that on a consistent basis, he’ll been in the hunt for a world title. That’s an exciting prospect for any fighter, but if Bukauskas has learned anything over his two stints in the UFC is that you celebrate the little victories along the way without looking too far ahead. And one of those little victories (actually a big one) was his July submission of Marcin Prachnio in his adopted home country of England.
“I was definitely a lot more pleasant,” he laughed. “After the (Vitor) Petrino fight, I had a lot of things that I knew I needed to fix. It was a fight which I knew I could have easily won.”

He didn’t win that one with the Brazilian, getting halted in the second round. It broke a four-fight winning streak that included two straight in his return to the Octagon, and the perpetually positive Lithuanian had to regroup.
“There's a lot of inner demons that I needed to fix, which is why I went to a bit of a dark place, but I had to figure all that stuff out,” Bukauskas said. “It was a journey and part of my growing process.”
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With Petrino now in the rearview mirror, Bukauskas supplemented his training by traveling to interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall’s camp to work with the big boys, and that paid off when he defeated Prachnio in Manchester. It was his first submission win since 2018 and another learning lesson.
“Even this fight (with Prachnio) was part of my growing process,” he said. “I mean, I bloody got head kicked in the middle of the second round and still managed to submit the guy on autopilot. (Laughs) So I learned a lot from that fight.”

The main lesson? Keep doing what he started doing in that training camp.
“I started doing everything right,” Bukauskas said. “I started not drinking. I started taking care of my recovery. I started doing things like a champion would. And I feel like that was another one of the reasons why I won that fight. I went through adversity, but I still managed to weather the storm because had I not done everything, that kick probably would've put me out. The fact that I did do everything and was very focused and made sure I trained properly and trained with a great team I was in a good place. That's what brought me through.”
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Yeah, this is a crazy game. Bukauskas agrees, but whether he admits it or not, it’s that unpredictability that adds to the excitement level, especially for those watching. For those with the gloves on, it means that what you may think is going to happen on fight night isn’t necessarily what takes place when the Octagon door closes.
“I've been on both sides of the coin,” he said. “I've been on the side of the coin where you think it's going to go one way and it goes completely the opposite. But I've also went in there thinking that something's going to happen and it actually goes that way. Weirdly enough, the Tyson Pedro fight would be one example of where I visualized and prepared myself for everything to go a certain way and it actually went that way. But in this fight, it's funny because literally the wrench was his kick to my head because everything that I was supposed to do in that fight was going to plan until it didn't go to plan.”

Bukauskas did get the win, though, and in preparation for his business trip to Seattle, he’s back with Aspinall and company.
“You know how you have them cartoons with the massive dogs and they're drooling everywhere,” he laughs. “Then there's me, little Daffy Duck. “So it was actually me and Simeon (Powell), my other training partner, and we were the only light heavyweights. The rest of them, it's just a room full of heavyweights, about 10 or more. But it's been amazing. I just like the vibe up here and I love the people that I train with. Obviously being around greatness and Tom Aspinall was very uplifting and motivating for me. And these guys believe in you, as well. I've got my dad with me, and I've added Simeon Powell to the team. He's going to be cornering me in Seattle, another 6-foot-6 bloody animal, a great striker and a great fighter. So I've definitely got a great team and I'm very excited for this fight because if you train with the best in the world, then you're definitely not going to fall short of fighting to the best of your ability.”
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History has proven that when Bukauskas is fighting to the best of his ability, he’s a problem for anyone in the light heavyweight division. All that’s left is staying consistent and showing that he’s not just another guy on the roster.
“I just need to prove myself."
UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs Song took place live from Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington on February 22, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!