The NFL is commonly talked about as the house of the most effective athletes on this planet, however whereas the celebrities of that sport do deserve respect, it’s protected to say that within the UFC, even the hardest footballers would discover it laborious to transition from soccer.
Through the years, now we have seen numerous former NFL gamers try to make the transition into MMA. Whereas a quantity have failed, there have been a handful who have been capable of make it into the UFC with some success.
With some abilities, particularly energy, velocity and explosive energy, clearly translating from the NFL proper into the octagon, may we see former soccer stars transfer throughout sports activities sooner or later? Something is feasible.
For now, although, listed below are 5 NFL gamers who made the transfer into the UFC.
#5. Eryk Anders – UFC mild heavyweight
Most of the former NFL stars to transition into the octagon unsurprisingly competed within the heavyweight division. Nonetheless, the one outlier is Eryk Anders, who has fought within the octagon at each middleweight and lightweight heavyweight.
Not like many athletes who made the transfer into MMA, Anders didn’t wrestle throughout his time in school. As a substitute, he loved a stellar soccer profession on the College of Alabama, taking part in for the Crimson Tide as a linebacker.
‘Ya Boi’ helped his crew to victory within the 2009 BCS Nationwide Championships. After school, he was signed up by the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. Nonetheless, after failing to make an look within the league for them, he briefly moved to the Canadian Soccer League’s Calgary Stampeders earlier than giving up on soccer totally.
From there, ‘Ya Boi’ moved into MMA, first as an beginner. He then turned skilled in 2015. An 8-0 run was sufficient to land him a contract with the world’s largest promotion and he’s been there ever since, placing collectively a run of 6-6-1 and impressing at occasions.
Anders has but to maneuver into title rivalry, however the athleticism and energy that he honed throughout his soccer profession have positively helped him in his wins over fighters comparable to Vinicius Moreira and Rafael Natal.