Ben Houser of ESPN.com has a report about the handful of
football players who have tried their hands at mixed martial arts, and Houser reports that the number of players who try to make the leap from the NFL to the Octagon is likely to grow.
But Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White isn't impressed with what he's seen of NFL players who have switched to his sport.
"These NFL players think they are going to come in and fight against real mixed martial artists? It's going to be ugly," White said. "I got two words for you: Johnnie Morton."
Morton, the former Lions, Chiefs and 49ers wide receiver, embarrassed himself by
getting knocked out 38 seconds into his first mixed martial arts fight and then
testing positive for steroids. And while I don't think other NFL players would be quite as pathetic as Morton was, I do think White is basically right: The sports are totally different, and there's no more reason to believe an NFL player would stand a chance in the
UFC than there is to believe Chuck Liddell could play in the NFL.
If NFL Players Try UFC, 'It's Going to Be Ugly' - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog