Tim Hague turns to fans, social media for shot at UFC 149

Tim Hague is eager to show the world the new “Thrashing Machine”.

After a loss to Matt Mitrione last January at Fight for the Troops 2 it has been approximately fourteen months since UFC fans have heard from the Canadian.  However, with the possibility of the UFC holding a card in his home province later this year, his excitement to return to the Octagon is prevalent and at an all-time high.  He recently spoke with Fighters.com, addressing some of the challenges he’s overcome since then and plead his case for a return.

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“I’ve definitely taken care of a few issues in my personal life that I could really tell were weighing me down,  Hague revealed before turning to training.  “I took a pro boxing fight and spent a lot of time training with one of the best boxers in Canada in James Cermak. He has really helped me work on my hands, and my confidence in my stand-up, and assisted me in setting things up with my hands.  I feel that I’m a much different fighter than the last time I was in the UFC.”

Hague won his boxing debut but had a slight setback with a work-related injury shortly afterward. He has fully recovered, however, and in addition to his striking is committing himself to a full-time training regimen going forward.

“I plan on getting on the mats at least five days a week from now until my next fight, said Hague, adding interest in working with former opponent-turned-friend Pat Barry whom he  acknowledged was a good training partner capable of putting in hard sessions with him.

UFC 149 is tentatively scheduled to take place on July 21 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and may be revealed as early as this week.  Hague, who was born and raised in Boyle, Alberta (approximately 250 miles north of Calgary) started campaigning for a fight in the public eye, using social media (particularly Twitter) to drive his cause.

“I thought of starting a Twitter campaign to try and get back for UFC 149,” explained Hague.  “I know Dana White is a huge proponent of social media, so I figured I’d try and see how many people I’d try to get on the bandwagon and keep in Dana White’s mind and just keep tweeting him and see if he’s interested.”

Since first giving it a go UFC brass has been flooded with requests from eager fans and well-wishers. In fact, it even caught the attention of the UFC President whom Hague acknowledged had even reached out to him.

“That was pretty cool,” Hague laughed.  “Whatever I Tweet gets re-Tweeted anywhere from 15-100 times, and everybody else has been Tweeting him so it’s been pretty wicked.”

Those interested in following or supporting Hague’s social media campaign can follow Hague on Twitter @Tim_Hague. He holds an overall record of 13-5 and is coming off a 74-second submission win in his last fight.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC