The Second Careers of MMA Fighters

One of the aspects of MMA that fans love so much is the variety of skills that fighters possess. MMA, as the name suggests, combines all of the martial arts, meaning that those at the top of their game have a real variety in their performances. As such, fighters often have second careers that either run alongside their fighting or really kick off once they’ve retired from the ring. Want to know what these athletes get up to when they aren’t fighting? We’ve got the lowdown here.

Lex Veldhuis, Poker Pro

For some fighters, one career wins out over the other and in the case of Lex, it turned out he was just too good at poker to waste time fighting. Lex Veldhuis is now best known for his online poker prowess, as well as his impressive live tournament performances. However, Veldhuis has also trained in Jiu Jitzu. Back in 2011 he fought another poker pro in an MMA fight and won in just four minutes. It would be interesting to see how well he’d fare against a professional if he took up the training seriously again. Sadly though, for now, we’ll just have to enjoy his time at the tournament tables.

Brock Lesnar, Wrestling Wonder

Brock Lesnar is another guy who’s a good deal more famous for his other career than he is for his time spent in the UFC cage. He is undoubtedly most famous for wrestling, a sport in which he signed up with WWE to compete. After only five months of fighting in the WWE, he won the championship, making him the youngest ever to win at just 25 years old. Not one to rest on his laurels, Lesnar continued with this career but also signed up to fight in the UFC. It turned out that the wrestling wonder also had a real skill for MMA. Just as with his wrestling career, a few months after signing with UFC he became the Heavyweight Champion. It’s pretty incredible to achieve just one of those feats in your life, but to achieve two so quickly is nothing short of incredible. Oh, and did we mention his foray into American Football? Somehow in all of his free time, he managed to get signed to the Minnesota Vikings and although he didn’t set the world alight, he performed pretty incredibly for someone who hadn’t played football seriously since school. It turns out some people really can do it all.

Eddie Wineland, Fierce Firefighter

Eddie Wineland made his name in the world of MMA by being incredibly tough. He’s taken some serious blows but has a real talent for bouncing back up. Although he’s not been doing MMA for years and years, he’s made his name on the circuit and has also held down another job at the same time. Eddie works as a fireman in Indiana and although he isn’t full-time at 120 days per year, that’s still a lot of time for an athlete in such great shape. He claims that his job allows him to stay fit, thanks to the gym equipment, and affords him time to train for UFC and spend a little with his family too.