Following his unanimous decision win over Tim Lewis at CageSport 60 in February of 2020, bantamweight Chris San Jose was looking to continue his momentum when the onset of the novel coronavirus set his plans into disarray.
Having missed out nearly two years of his career San Jose is keen to get back into fighting and is excited to finally have something concrete lined up.
“The world pretty much shut down a couple weeks after my last fight (because of) Covid,” San Jose told MMAWeekly.com. “Since then it’s been non-stop training.
“I had a couple of opportunities, one with The Ultimate Fighter, but it didn’t work out, and then over the last year I’ve had a couple fights fall through. I’m just excited now that we have something scheduled and I’m excited to get back into the ring.”
When he does return to action, San Jose feels he’ll show marked improvement in his game since the last time he fought over two years ago.
“Getting into the cage is always the test of what comes out of training, but I’ve always been an all-around fighter and I’ve worked a ton on my wrestling and boxing these last couple years and I hope that will come back,” said San Jose.
“I’m the kind of fighter that wherever the fight goes I want to put on a show for the fans and make it exciting, whether on the feet or on the ground.”
On June 25 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, San Jose (8-1) looks to get back to fighting with a bang when he takes on Austin Bashi (6-0) in a 135-pound main card bout at Lights Out Championship 8.
Austin Bashi looking to ‘sink’ Chris San Jose at Lights Out Championship 8
“I think we’ve done our job to get ready for what he’s going to bring, but at the end of the day my plan is to put out the pressure that I need to put out and make him adjust,” San Jose said of Bashi.
“I think I pose a lot of risk in a lot of different areas. On game day we’ll make some adjustments on the fly and see what goes down in the cage.”
For San Jose the most important thing right now is to get his return going on the right foot and then he will look at what comes his way later.
“I always try to focus on the fight at hand and who I have right in front of me,” said San Jose. “I really want to make a statement here and then get o one of the big show cards after that and really go after that in the rest of 2020.”
Chris San Jose looking to make a statement against Austin Bashi at Lights Out Championship 8