BY JAMES BRYDON
sportsnet.ca

Edmonton’s Tim (The Thrashing Machine) Hague is one of three Canadian fighters on Saturday’s UFC 113 card in Montreal who is making his return after being cut. But what’s unique about his situation is he didn’t even have to win a fight to earn his trip back.

Hague made his UFC debut a year ago, and surprised a more seasoned Pat Barry, who was also appearing in the Octagon for the first time, with a first-round submission. But after dropping his next two -- first in a UFC-record seven seconds to Todd Duffee, then by a controversial majority decision to Chris Tuchscherer that was booed by the crowd -- Hague was given his walking papers.

“I texted Joe Silva when I found out I’d been cut and said, ‘Thank you for the opportunity and I’ll try to put some wins together and get back as soon as possible,’” the extremely humble Hague said. “And he said, ‘Sounds good.’”

Hague (11-3) quickly signed a deal with hometown promotion The Fight Club and was set to fight on March 19. But after his first opponent pulled out because of injury, his replacement got sick the night of the fight and the bout was pulled an hour beforehand, costing Hague a chance at one of those wins -- not to mention a paycheque of about $8,000.

A big disappointment for him at the time, things worked out for the best. Unlike Jason (The Athlete) MacDonald and Joe (El Dirte) Doerksen, who needed three- and five-fight win streaks, respectively, since being released to earn a return trip to the Octagon, Hague didn’t even need to put any victories together.

“It was luck of the draw I guess,” Hague said. “Chad Corvin wasn’t able to make it to Montreal so the UFC figured they’d get a Canadian to replace him (in his scheduled fight against Joey Beltran) and they knew I was healthy.

“My manager asked me if I’ll take a high-profile fight on short notice. And I said of course I’ll take a fight in the UFC against anybody any time. I re-signed three to four weeks ago and got myself in as good a shape as possible.”

With no fights on his record since his last loss in the UFC, it appears as if Hague, who takes on Joey Beltran in the undercard, never left.

It didn’t feel that way to him, however, at least not emotionally speaking.

“I was living my dream and after the controversial loss, it was tough to take getting released,” Hague admitted. “But I guess you can say I took it like a man.

“Now I get a chance to show the UFC that I belong and put on a good fight against Joey Beltran.”

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There’s another unique thing about his preparation for this fight. He spent a good portion of his training with Duffee, the man who entered the UFC record books at his expense.

“I headed down to Vegas and trained with (Todd) and Mike Whitehead, Forrest Griffin and Wanderlei Silva as well,” Hague said. “Todd’s getting ready for Mike Russow (at UFC 114), and I think I’m a bigger, more physical version of him. … I had basically signed for the fight as soon as I got down to Vegas so Todd helped me as well and I don’t think I’m going to find many better training partners than a 260-pound GSP.”

Hague (10-3) said he’s really eager for Saturday and believes it’s a great chance at redemption. He hopes it will be an early birthday present -- he turns 27 on Sunday.

He said he’s watched Beltran’s last fight against Rolles Gracie “a hundred times” and thinks this is a perfect fight for him.

“I just have to stay crisp and clean,” Hague said. “Against Duffee I came out wide open, a lot wide open and he planted one right on the button and he finished me off on the ground. I just have to keep my combinations tight, keep my chin tucked and let the hands fly.”