The National Football League (Football) and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (Mixed Martial Arts) are undoubtedly very different. Eleven players line up on either side of a football field as they compete to gain control of the ball. In the octagon, it’s one vs. one, just you and the person standing before you.
There are similarities in the sense that the NFL and UFC are fraught with danger and the risk of developing long-term health issues, and neither is very forgiving in that they are very cutthroat by design. Competing in both worlds requires a specific personality and could be one of the reasons we have seen several former NFL stars transition into the UFC compared to other sports.
We look at some of the journeys of athletes who have crossed over from football to mixed martial arts as they ditched their shoulder pads for padded gloves.
Greg Hardy
Known for his off-the-field antics as much as his gridiron exploits, Greg Hardy had a successful NFL career after impressing during his college years at the University of Mississippi. He was considered a top draft prospect out of college, but unfortunate injuries contributed to a sub-par performance in the combine which resulted in the race for his signature slowing down.
The defensive end was selected as the 175th pick by the Carolina Panthers in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL draft. During his five-year spell with the Panthers, Hardy made a total of sixty-three appearances and appeared in the Pro Bowl in what was a successful period in Carolina (from a sporting perspective.) Hardy was forced to sit out the majority of the 2014 season as a domestic violence charge against him took some time going through the legal process. He left Carolina in the spring of 2015, signing for the Dallas Cowboys on a one-year deal worth a reported $11.3 million.
Hardy’s career at the Cowboys began well, but his performance levels taped off towards the end of the season. With ‘America’s Team’ being unimpressed with his Twitter presence, timekeeping, and influence on younger members of the squad, they decided against extending his contract. Hardy retired from the NFL with a combined total of 40 sacks from 75 appearances.
Hardy’s foray into mixed martial arts came in 2016, and he had his first fight one year later against Joe Hawkins, which Hardy won via TKO in a little over thirty seconds. All of his other amateur bouts ended similarly, with a total cage time of just 2:22 needed to finish his first three opponents.
An impressive amateur record combined with already being a famous/infamous face in sports led to Hardy being granted a shot on Dana White’s Contender Series. Hardy faced another former NFL star in Jacksonville Jaguar’s Austen Lane, and the former Panther came out on top with a TKO victory inside the first minute. Hardy’s start to life in the pro ranks of MMA was even more impressive than his time in the amateurs, as he took just 2:07 to finish his first three fights.
Controversy followed Hardy from the NFL into the UFC as he was disqualified due to an illegal knee against Allen Crowder, with the sequence looking as if Hardy didn’t have a full grasp on the UFC rules. Two wins followed, taking Hardy’s pro record to 5-1 before controversy would rear its ugly head again. Against Ben Sosoli, Hardy won the fight via a unanimous decision, but the result was later overturned and deemed a no-contest after Hardy used an inhaler between rounds.
The inhaler ended up taking the wind out of Hardy’s UFC career as he lost four of his next six fights, although to his credit, his opponents such as Alexander Volkov, Tai Tuivasa, and Sergey Spivak have all gone on to impress in the UFC. Hardy left the UFC in March 2022 after compiling an MMA record of 7-5 (1NC). Hardy signed with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship in June 2022 on a multi-fight deal, losing his debut to Josh Watson via knockout in round 2.
Brendan Schaub
After playing football as a tight end at the University of Colorado, Brendan Schaub set his sights on playing in the NFL. Schaub impressed on a ‘Pro Day’ at his University and signed to the Buffalo Bills practice squad. He recognized it would be a tall order to make it into the first team, as he was coming into the squad as an undrafted free agent. Schaub was released shortly after in 2006 and continued to play football for one more year with the Utah Blaze in the Arena Football League before retiring.
Schaub then took up boxing and succeeded in his home state of Colorado before he began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He decided to pursue a career in Mixed Martial Arts, competing in his first bout in June 2008, winning by TKO in the first thirty seconds of the fight. Three more wins followed, and Schaub was signed up for The Ultimate Fighter’s tenth season under Rashad Evans’s tutelage. He had success on the show, getting all the way to the final, where he faced off against Roy Nelson in the heavyweight finale losing via knockout in the first round.
A five-year stint in the UFC followed, and during this spell, Schaub had an impressive knockout victory over MMA legend Mirko Cro Cop, earning him a knockout of the night bonus. ”Big Brown” also defeated Gabriel Gonzaga and Matt Mitrione; however, the UFC title he was chasing alluded to him as he lost four of his last six fights and retired from the sport following a knockout defeat to Travis Browne in December 2014.
Post-fighting, Schaub has forged a career for himself in stand-up comedy and has a significant presence in the YouTube/podcasting world.
Austen Lane
Born in Evanston, Illinois, Austen Lane was educated in Wisconsin and played both offense and defense in high school, earning All-state honors for his attacking play. After a successful collegiate career at Murray State, Lane was predicted to be a third-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. He was eventually picked in the fifth round as the 153rd overall pick and moved to the East Coast to play for the Jacksonville Jaguars, making nine starts in his first year in Duval County.
Lane then went on to sign for the Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, and the Chicago Bears in what were all brief stints, and eight months after leaving the Bears, he announced his retirement from football in August 2015. Attention then turned to forging a career in mixed martial arts, with his first fight coming just three months after his NFL retirement; a first-round knockout victory.
Four consecutive knockouts then followed before Lane turned professional in April 2017. His first four fights in the pro ranks followed a similar trajectory as his amateur career, winning all by stoppage in the first round. Lane was then offered a chance to appear on Dana White’s Contender Series but failed to impress as Greg Hardy knocked him out in the first round.
Lane returned to the regional circuit, winning seven of his next nine fights, and had gained a reputation for being involved in exciting bouts. He had amassed a record of 11-3, and almost all of his fights had ended in either a knockout or TKO. In September 2022, he was given another shot on the Contender Series, over four years since his last appearance on the show.
This time, he won via knockout in the first round and earned himself a UFC contract. His most recent fight came against Justin Tafa on the undercard of Josh Emmett vs. Ilia Topuria on June 24, 2023. Lane accidentally landed an eye poke on Tafa which caused damage sufficient enough for the fight to be waived off and deemed a no contest as his opponent could not continue.
Brock Lesnar
Where to begin with the man who is an athlete to his very core? We’ll start with the year when Brock Lesnar left his lucrative career with the WWE (2004), where two years prior, he had set the record for becoming the youngest person to win the WWE Championship at the age of 25. He decided to try and make a name for himself in another sport by becoming a star in the National Football League, despite not having played the game since his high school years.
Lesnar tried out for the Minnesota Vikings and made several appearances in their pre-season games; however, he was deemed surplus to requirements before the commencement of the regular season. He was reportedly offered an opportunity to compete in NFL Europe but opted against it, deciding to remain in the United States in order to be closer to his family.
Brock Lesnar turned his attention to mixed martial arts, making his professional debut in June 2007, defeating Min-Soo Kim in Los Angeles for the now-defunct Dynamite!! USA promotion. The sheer size and power were too much to overcome for his opponent, who submitted after just one minute of the first round due to punches from Lesnar.
The UFC came calling, and Lesnar’s first fight in MMA’s leading organization was against the legendary Frank Mir. It was the WWE star’s first real test in MMA in what was only his second fight, and the step-up in class proved too much as he was submitted in the first round. After returning to the win column in his next bout, Lesnar was controversially offered a UFC Heavyweight title shot against Randy Couture. Lesnar was already a superstar due to his success with the WWE, and despite only having a 2-1 MMA record, the UFC felt the shot at heavyweight gold was justified, given the hype surrounding him at the time. He delivered, defeating Couture via second-round TKO.
Lesnar defended his belt twice, gaining redemption over Frank Mir n the process before losing his title to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121. A year later, he lost to Alistair Overeem, which took his MMA record to 5-3. Lesnar then took a five-year break from MMA after suffering from diverticulitis. The condition led to his withdrawal from being a coach on The Ultimate Fighter, where he was scheduled to coach alongside Junior Dos Santos. Dana White revealed that Lesnar had twelve inches of his colon removed and that the operation was successful.
Despite Lesnar’s recovery being a success, he didn’t compete in the UFC again until July 9, 2016, against Mark Hunt at UFC 200. Lesnar won the fight via unanimous decision. The result was later overturned and deemed a no-contest after Lesnar tested positive for a prohibited substance. It was the last time he competed in mixed martial arts, and he’s since gone back to the WWE, where he still competes today and remains a mega-star in the world of sports entertainment.
Matt Mitrione
Talented across many disciplines, Mitrione competed in track and field events, football, swimming, and weightlifting during his high school years in Illinois. Football was where the defensive lineman excelled, earning both All-American and All-State recognition, which earned him a scholarship at Purdue.
Playing defensive tackle, he was an ever-present for his University team but went undrafted after breaking his foot in 2002. Despite that, he was offered a contract with the New York Giants and played nine games before the injury curse hit again, during a playoff game with the San Francisco 49ers. Multiple surgeries followed, and after a lengthy layoff, he was released by the Giants in 2014. He had short spells with the 49ers and the Minnesota Vikings before the curtain was drawn on his NFL career.
Mitrione then moved to Indiana to focus on a new career in mixed martial arts and was signed up for The Ultimate Fighter, Season 10. He was defeated in the quarter-finals but was offered a fight on the card to determine the heavyweight winner, defeating Marcus Jones by knockout in round two. Mitrione knocked out Kimbo Slice in his next fight at UFC 113 and went on to win his first five UFC fights before suffering back-to-back defeats against Cheick Kongo and Roy Nelson.
Fighting under the UFC banner for another four years, Mitrione’s results were a mixed bag from there on out. Still, they included notable wins over Derrick Lewis and Gabriel Gonzaga, the latter for which he earned a performance of the night bonus. He left the UFC following a knockout loss to Travis Browne and entered Bellator with a 9-5 MMA record.
The change in scenery brought a change in luck for Mitrione as he won his first four fights in impressive fashion. He shocked the world when defeating who many consider one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, Fedor Emelianenko, via knockout in the third round at Bellator NYC. Fedor had an astonishing 36-4 (1NC) record going into the bout and was expected to beat Mitrione.
After losing four of his last fights, Mitrione retired from MMA after losing to Tyrell Fortune with a record of 13-9 (1NC) in an eventful twelve years in the sport.
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