The NFL is ceaselessly mentioned as the house of the most efficient athletes on the planet, however whilst the celebs of that recreation do deserve admire, it’s secure to mention that within the UFC, even the hardest footballers would in finding it laborious to transition from soccer.
Through the years, we now have noticed a variety of former NFL avid gamers try to make the transition into MMA. Whilst a bunch have failed, there were a handful who had been in a position to make it into the UFC with some luck.
With some talents, particularly power, velocity and explosive energy, obviously translating from the NFL proper into the octagon, may just we see former soccer stars transfer throughout sports activities at some point? Anything else is conceivable.
For now, even though, listed here are 5 NFL avid gamers who made the transfer into the UFC.
#5. Eryk Anders – UFC mild heavyweightEryk Anders loved a stellar collegiate occupation in soccer prior to starting his MMA occupation
Most of the former NFL stars to transition into the octagon unsurprisingly competed within the heavyweight department. Alternatively, the only outlier is Eryk Anders, who has fought within the octagon at each middleweight and light-weight heavyweight.
In contrast to many athletes who made the transfer into MMA, Anders didn’t strive against throughout his time in school. As a substitute, he loved a stellar soccer occupation on the College of Alabama, taking part in for the Pink Tide as a linebacker.
‘Ya Boi’ helped his crew to victory within the 2009 BCS Nationwide Championships. After faculty, he used to be signed up by way of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. Alternatively, after failing to make an look within the league for them, he in brief moved to the Canadian Soccer League’s Calgary Stampeders prior to giving up on soccer solely.
From there, ‘Ya Boi’ moved into MMA, first as an novice. He then became skilled in 2015. An 8-0 run used to be sufficient to land him a freelance with the arena’s largest promotion and he’s been there ever since, striking in combination a run of 6-6-1 and impressing every now and then.
Anders has but to transport into identify rivalry, however the athleticism and tool that he honed throughout his soccer occupation have indubitably helped him in his wins over combatants similar to Vinicius Moreira and Rafael Natal.
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