Ex-Premier League player to become professional fighter? Yep, that could be the case with Dejan Lovren taking his chances recently.
The former Liverpool defender has been trying his hand at MMA after being spotted sparring with fighting star Mirko ‘CroCop’ Filipovic.
MMA for those who want extra clarification is mixed martial arts, sometimes referred to as cage fighting, where fighters make moves such as striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorporating techniques from various combat sports and martial arts from around the world.
46 year old CroCop is a mega name among those on the fighting scenes – enduring a superb career which has seen the Croatian claim 38 wins with five of them coming in the UFC.
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The heavyweight mixed martial artist, who shares the same nationality as Lovren, has been showing the footballer the basics of how to hold strong ground when fighting.
The clip, which shows the duo embroiled in a tense exchange, was posted on CroCop’s official Facebook page, and it had many people laughing.
He posted footage of the session with the caption: “Had this morning a short training session against @crocop1009. What a beast this man still is. Was a big pleasure Mirko. Thank you.
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As you can see, Lovren managed to hold on for nearly one minute before the former UFC fighter locked in an arm bar to make him tap-out.
If ex-Premier League player Lovren is serious on becoming a professional fighter, when taking account of his current height and weight, he would compete in the middleweight (185lb) division, which is still two weight classes below CroCop.
While the footballer’s standards for fighting is some way off, he isn’t the only footballer to step into the the fighting scenes, or at least try to.
Marcin Wasilewski was reportedly set to begin a career in cage fighting.
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The former Leicester defender became one of many ex-pros to swap shin pads for mouth guards.
The Pole retired from football in November 2020 and is set to enter the world of cage fighting.
Rio Ferdinand, sponsored by a betting company, was to step into the ring in September 2017, however the former defender was denied a licence.
The British Boxing Board of Control deemed it ‘not beneficial’ to allow Ferdinand his second career.
And the Manchester United legend called time on his boxing comeback.
He said: “It is with a heavy heart that I am hanging up my gloves.
“To not be given the chance to demonstrate my ability to the BBBofC through the standard assessment afforded to others is hard to take.”
October 2020 saw Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn reveal his desire to stage an Old Trafford showdown between Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney.
Leon McKenzie, who played for the likes of Norwich, Peterborough and Coventry on the pitch, then forged a decent super-middleweight career.
Having hung up his footballing boots in January 2013, he pulled on the boxing gloves just six months later.
A debut win over John Mason at Bethnal Green’s historic York Hall set him on a string of nine fights without defeat.
An English title fight with Jahmaine Smyle saw McKenzie suffer a first defeat before he rounded off an 11-fight career with a nine-round loss to Cello Renda.
He recently joined forces with former England cricketer Steve Harmison for a talkSPORT podcast on sports stars’ post-retirement plans.
He said: “For a while I was trying to hold on to ‘former professional boxer and footballer’. That was my identity. I’ve accepted my position now.”
Curtis Woodhouse made the switch to boxing, quitting football at the age of 26 after Birmingham paid £1million to sign the midfielder from Sheffield United in 2001 before spells with Peterborough, Hull and more.
He had a long career in the ring, though an assault conviction halted Woodhouse’s rise but he soon began teaming both of his sports.
After 31 fights, he claimed 24 wins and went 12 rounds with Frankie Gavin for the WBO Intercontinental welterweight belt in 2011.
The Driffield Destroyer won English and British level titles before calling time on it in 2017, and recently was managing non league Gainsborough Trinity.
Back in 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo visited Conor McGregor’s luxurious training base based in Las Vegas and in the meantime, made a very big promise.
‘Notorious’ was preparing for his rematch with Nate Diaz following on from his shock loss at UFC 196, but then he avenged his only loss inside the Octagon with a decision victory.
He subsequently made UFC history by becoming the first fighter in the promotion to hold two belts simultaneously.
It’s fair to say that the training worked and maybe something Cristiano Ronaldo said had spurred him on to win.
McGregor said: “You were number one on the Forbes list, I was like number 35 or something. I’ll get up. Maybe next year I’ll get you.”
Ronaldo replied saying, “I don’t think so.”
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