It’s an unfortunate truth that in MMA, professional fighters often work second jobs to support themselves. 

This extends not only to the regional circuit, but to the highest level of the sport as well. Entering his bout this weekend at UFC 244, Chance Rencountre has always had at least one additional job - that is until this fight camp. 

“This is actually my first camp where I haven’t had to have a job,” Rencountre said. “This will be the first one ever.”

Upon moving to California to work with Alliance MMA and coach Eric Del Fierro, Rencountre had to look for additional employment. While some of that work was working doing strength and conditioning work at his new home gym, other jobs were far less convenient. 

“I worked at a sandwich shop for a while. I was in there prepping meat in the morning,” Rencountre said. “They weren’t nothing crazy, but I would work a couple horus of the day and have to be there at a certain time. It was just more stress than anything.” 

And this, or worse, has been the case for the entirety of his fighting career. 

 “I’ve been out in California for a year, and I’ve had part-time jobs. Before [moving out here] I was working full-time,” he said. “Now I can fully not stress about going to work, scheduling my practices or being there at a certain time.”

Now completely stress free, Rencountre feels that he’s making huge gains in his fight game. Although the improvement of working with a top level coach in Del Fierro provided drastic gains in his last few fights, he’s confident that his new focus and additional time will get him even further. 

“Now I can totally worry about me and making my craft better, and relaxing and getting plenty of rest,” he notes. 

The new schedule is a little odd for Rencountre, who is used to being busy constantly. However, he’s beginning to enjoy the rest and downtime more and more and is hoping for it to show come Saturday. 

“It’s a different world right now, but I’m enjoying it,” he said. “Hopefully the result will prove it Saturday night.”

Rencountre fights Lyman Good Saturday as part of the preliminary portion of UFC 244.