TUF drawing NFL players!
By Curtis Clontz on Apr 07, 2009
The National Football League is now the premier sports league in America, hands down. It contains some of the best athletes in the world! The monsters that weigh upwards of 230 pounds and can run a forty yard dash in just under five seconds are incredible. It was only a matter of time before these athletes made their turn to the sport of mixed martial arts. The reality show TUF has opened this door and a hand full of former football players have put their names in for the next season. Marcus Jones and Rex Richards are just two of the many fighters trying out for the 10th season of TUF. Below is a little back ground and some stats from the glory years of these players.
Marcus Jones
Sherdog has Jones as 4-2. He is a former UNC Tarheel’s standout that was a first round draft pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jones only played 6 years in the NFL before he retired, and he is now a full time fighter. In his 6 fight career to date he has not went out of the first round. He seems to be more of a fighter with 3 TKOs and 1 submission.
Picture from http://media.tbo.com/photos/bucs/wk16pix/frame10.htm
Rex Richards is a mountain of a man. The 6’5 three hundred pounder is 6-1 as a pro, and is coming off of 2 straight wins. Richards is most known for his great college football. The former Texas Tech Red Raider started more than 40 games. This number is more than any other lineman at that school. After several first and second All Big 12 seasons, he participated on the Indianapolis Colt’s practice squad. He never had any luck and moved to the Arena Football League. Sine that time he has found the time to get his purple belt in jui jitsu.
Picture from http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/081802/col_0818020020.shtml
Filed Under: MMA
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Not that familiar with Richards, but Jones was a hell of an athlete for UNC and to be a first round pick is something. I think you are going to see this happen more and more which can be good for the sport (in the case of Jones) or bad (in the case of Johnnie Morton), but if they take it seriously as it appears these two have there are a lot of ex-pro and college football players who are excellent athletes and could make an impact.
Sherdog is behind the curve on Richards. He’s 8-1, that single loss coming from Shane Carwin. He’s the only fighter to escape from under Carwin once mounted. Richards now weighs 265#, and was awarded his Gracie Black Belt in February, 2009.
I hear Jamal Patterson is fighting Ryan Jimmo at the next UWC. I know Antwain beat Jimmo on TUF 8 so do you think That Britt will get the winner. I saw the Patterson fight and he rocked Patterson early. I know alot of people would want to see any two of those rematches