One morning, he got the word from Doug Viney, one of his coaches at Auckland's City Kickboxing gym, that he would be competing in the Professional Fighters' League's lightweight tournament this year, in which the winner takes home US$1million.
"He rang me on the way to work. We had just finished up our morning session, I was driving to work and had my phone in the phone holder up front," Bland explained to the Herald. "So I pulled over and answered and Doug says: 'I've got some bad news for you – you're in the PFL.'
"I rang my wife straight away and we were over the moon, then I went to work. I had to do a bit of a s*** job at work, climb under a deck and dig some holes, but I was all smiles even doing that."
Like most professional mixed martial artists in New Zealand, Bland had a day job on top of all his training commitments. Without the regular fights and paychecks that the likes of the UFC, Bellator, One and the PFL offer, most MMA athletes can't make a living off fighting alone.
Upon getting his contract with the PFL, Bland mulled over what to do with his work in landscaping and after speaking to his wife Alesha, ultimately decided to hand in his notice and commit to going all in on his shot with the PFL.
At that point, the early indications were the PFL season would begin in late May or early June. Now, things are uncertain as the sporting world has been rocked by the threat of the coronavirus.
"I handed in my notice, worked out my final week, then a few days later this thing kicked off, so it couldn't have been any worse timing," Bland said.
"It's definitely been a bit of a downer. I found out, then within a week it seems like the world's going to end. It's cool that I finally got what I was hoping for and have been working toward all these years, but now everything's falling to bits.
"Who knows what will happen, but I guess in the grand scheme of things it's only a minor hiccup compared to watch some other people and places are going through."
Training alone will be an issue over coming weeks as City Kickboxing has closed its doors for at least the next two weeks as a precautionary measure to reduce any Covid-19 risks.
Bland said he hadn't heard any news on whether or not the PFL would be delaying the start to their season, but said he would simply be doing what he could to prepare as best he could.
When the tournament does get underway, it will include the likes of UFC veterans Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Johnny Case and Marcin Held. However Bland was hopeful to draw a bout against two-time defending champion Natan Schulte.
"I watched a lot of Natan Schulte's fights and I'd really like to fight him. He's a good, exciting fighter; he comes forward and throws heaps of strikes, doesn't back down. You always want to aim for the top, the main guy, so that would be him.
"(I'll) just sit and wait; take things day by day, week by week," Bland said. "Obviously even training is affected with the gym closing up. Most gyms will close up soon so even places like your normal weights gym will be hard to get in to.
"I'll just do what I can. I guess everyone's in the same boat."
