10 Football Players Who Became MMA Fighters

When one thinks about 'bases' or backgrounds that exist in MMA, fans tend to think about wrestling, jiu-jitsu, kickboxing. It makes sense, the vast majority of UFC fighters tend to have come from one of those backgrounds, but another one of the fields that have a surprising amount of fighters come out is the sport of American football.

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Over the years, there have been many football players that have transitioned from playing on the gridiron to fighting in the cage to varying degrees of success. Let's take a look at some of the most high-profile examples of football players that became MMA fighters.

10 Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar is a man of many skillsets. Having dubbed himself as the 'modern age Bo Jackson', Lesnar has been one of the best in the world at seemingly anything he sets his mind to. Whether that be professional wrestling, amateur wrestling, or MMA. However, he also had a forgotten stint as a professional football player.

Lesnar was a standout football player in high school, however, he quit playing the sport when he went to college. In 2004 after leaving the WWE, he was signed by the Minnesota Vikings to play football once again. He played in the preseason but was released before the start of the regular season.

9 Michael Westbrook

Michael Westbrook enjoyed seven seasons playing as a wide receiver in the NFL. Playing the majority of his career with the Washington Redskins, he played his final year as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals. Following his retirement, he had his sights set on the cage.

Westbrook had three fights as a professional. The jiu-jitsu ace went 1-1 with one no-contest in his career, his career highlight was being matched up with future UFC heavyweight contender Travis Browne in 2009. Unfortunately for Westbrook, 'Hapa' scored a third-round TKO.

8 Austen Lane

Austen Lane played a few seasons in the NFL after coming out of Murray State University in 2010. Lane was mostly known for playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars for three seasons, however, he also spent time playing for the Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears, and Detroit Lions.

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Lane retired from the NFL in 2015, and quickly set his sights on the cage. Lane went 4-0 to start his MMA career when he was matched up with Greg Hardy on Dana White's Contender Series in 2018. While he lost the fight via first-round knockout, he's kept fighting. He currently holds a 10-3 pro record and is Fury FC heavyweight champion.

7 Marcus Jones

Marcus Jones played in the NFL from 1996 to 2002, spending most of his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jones retired from football in 2002 and stayed inactive from sports for the next five years. However in 2007, he began competing in MMA professionally, and after racking up a 4-1 record was put on the 10th season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Jones went 2-1 on the show, getting knocked out by Brendan Schaub to end his tenure in the house. On the show's finale, he was knocked out by Matt Mitrione in the second round to end his MMA career.

6 Bob Sapp

Bob Sapp is known as arguably the most famous freakshow fight attraction ever. However, prior to fighting in MMA and kickboxing, he had a failed stint in the NFL.

Despite being a third-round draft pick in 1997 with high aspirations for the Chicago Bears, Sapp only played one game in his NFL career. Sapp's career took a hit after being suspended for steroids, and after 1998 he turned his attention to pro-wrestling, which sent him down the entertainment business.

5 Herschel Walker

The oldest entry on this list, Herschel Walker was one of the best running backs of the 80s and 90s. Walker played 16 seasons of professional football across the NFL and the failed USFL league and was a dominant force. Walker was a multiple-time All-Pro in the league and had a tremendous legacy on the field.

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However the man still craved competition after retirement, and at the age of 47 announced his intention to compete in MMA. Strikeforce quickly signed him, and Walker won his first two fights by knockout. Despite rumors of returning over the years, Walker's career in the cage seems done after going 2-0.

4 Johnnie Morton

Johnnie Morton may have not been a Hall of Famer, but the Californian still played 12 seasons in the NFL as a wide receiver. After 2005, he decided to hang up his catching gloves for striking ones and decided to start training in MMA.

In 2007, Morton made his debut in a knockout loss to Bernard Ackah. To make the 38-second knockout loss somehow worse, Morton tested positive for elevated testosterone in the aftermath of the bout. He never fought again.

3 Brendan Schaub

Brendan Schaub is somewhat of a Brock Lesnar-lite in terms of doing different activities. Schaub notably has done standup comedy, podcasting, fighting, acting, and yes football. Schaub was a standout player for Colorado in college, before transitioning to the NFL.

His NFL tenure didn't go long, however, as he only played a few preseason games for the Buffalo Bills in 2006 before being released. He played a season with the Arena Football League's Utah Blaze before retiring in 2007 and moving to MMA.

2 Matt Mitrione

Matt Mitrione had a roller coaster athletic career. The former Purdue standout went undrafted in the 2002 NFL draft but played a season with the New York Giants. He was released in 2003 but played till 2005 for various teams before retiring and putting on the MMA gloves.

Mitrione has been fighting since 2009 and has had an up and down career. Notably defeating the likes of Fedor Emelianenko and Kimbo Slice across his career, he's currently riding a three-fight losing streak in Bellator.

1 Greg Hardy

Arguably one of the bigger cases of failed potential in the NFL, Greg Hardy was one of the best defensive players in the league when he was charged with domestic violence in 2014. Despite Hardy eventually having charges dropped, he was out of the league within two seasons due to the stain of his name.

He transitioned to MMA in 2017 and has since had an up and down run in the UFC. He currently holds a professional record of 7-4, and most recently lost to Tai Tuivasa in July.