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Pro Football players on TUF 10

MMAjunkie had leaked the names of some of the fighters for TUF 10. If their source is correct it appears there are going to be at least 4 former NFL players on the next season along with Kimbo Slice.


Marcus Jones, the 1996 first-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, enters "TUF" with a 4-1 professional MMA record, which includes four first-round victories via stoppage (with an average time of just 91 seconds per win). Three of the wins came via TKO and one via submission.

The 35-year-old played football at the University of North Carolina, where he was a four-time letterman, an All-American and the 1995 ACC Defensive Player of the Year. The 6-foot-6 defensive tackle played six NFL seasons with the Bucs. In his best season, 2000, he ranked eighth in the league with 13 sacks. He spent two additional seasons with the Buffalo Bills (but didn't play in the regular season) before giving up the sport. Soon after, he joined instructor Rob Kahn at Gracie Tampa and eventually made his professional MMA debut in 2007.

Matt Mitrione, who had a nine-game stint with the New York Giants in 2002, will be one of the season's least-experienced fighters (on paper, anyway). He has no professional fights, according to the major fighter databases, though he reportedly has fought as an amateur.

The 30-year-old Illinois native was an All-Big Ten defensive tackle for Purdue University. He went un-drafted after his senior year in 2000 but still earned his way into the NFL as a free agent. In addition to the Giants, the 6-foot-4 Mitrione spent some time with the Minnesota Vikings (though he didn't appear in any regular-season games for the team) before leaving the NFL in 2006.

Brendan Schaub, a 6-foot-4 fullback for the University of Colorado who spent some time with (but didn't play for) the Buffalo Bills, is 4-0 as a professional MMA fighter. He's often compared to his longtime training partner, undefeated UFC heavyweight Shane Carwin. Like Carwin, Schaub has made quick work of his opponents since turning pro in 2008. In four professional fights, he has four first-round TKOs, and the average length of each fight is just 59 seconds.

The 26-year-old Colorado native played for the Arena Football League's Utah Blaze before focusing solely on MMA. Schaub, the son of a second-degree Tae Kwon Do black belt, is a Golden Gloves boxing champion and the 2008 Colorado Open Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Absolute Advanced Grand Champion. He currently trains with Greg Jackson's renowned Team Jackson camp in New Mexico and T's KO Fight Club in Colorado.

Wes Shivers, who had a short NFL stint with the Atlanta Falcons in 2000, is 0-1 as a professional and 4-0 as an amateur, according to MMA.tv's fighter database. (However, his record is listed as 6-0 in some places). The muscular 6-foot-7 fighter is well versed in grappling and Muay Thai and previously competed as a super heavyweight before a lack of available opponents prompted a move down to heavyweight.

The 32-year-old Team Hammer Hill fighter was a standout offensive lineman at Mississippi State University. The Tennessee Titans drafted him in the seventh round of the 2000 NFL Draft. After playing three games with the Falcons in 2000, he left the NFL and focused on his MMA career.


They also reported that Rex Richards was forced to pull out with a partially torn MCL or it would of been 5 former NFL players.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.

Comment 18 comments  |  1 recs  | 

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I was hoping for Michael Westbrook.

by steak_knife on Jun 2, 2009 10:26 PM EDT reply actions  

me 2

"My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions." --George W. Bush, The Decider, Lancaster, Pa., Oct. 3, 2007

by lovingmma25 on Jun 2, 2009 11:08 PM EDT up reply actions  

Alas Kimbo, we hardly knew ye…

Keep firing Assholes!

Out out, you demons of stupidity!

by Ubernoober on Jun 2, 2009 10:39 PM EDT reply actions   1 recs

Agreed...

Even having only seen Schaub fight (out of these 4), I cannot imagine Kimbo coming out of this in one piece.

by beeran on Jun 2, 2009 11:32 PM EDT up reply actions  

these guys are all ex-football players turned mma fighters. While kimbo is a ex-street fighter turned mma fighter.

-Advantage Kimbo

by JaTinkles on Jun 2, 2009 11:18 PM EDT reply actions  

Marcus Jones walks around at 280lbs, Matt Mitrione is a 300lb guy and Wes Shivers is at 290lbs. That’s three huge athletic guys cutting to make 265lbs on top of their MMA training. Of course Brendan Schaub is a Golden Gloves champion and a Colorado BJJ champion that more than trumps “guy who fought in backyards on youtube” :D All in all it is shaping up to be a very interesting season on TUF coming up.

by who me on Jun 2, 2009 11:38 PM EDT up reply actions  

Didn't Kimbo play football too?

Advantage viewers.

If you see Mark Coleman in person, drop $5 on the floor and watch the fun as he tries in vain to bend down and pick it up.

by Ozzz on Jun 3, 2009 11:36 AM EDT up reply actions  

I think he was at the University of Miami for a year.

by who me on Jun 3, 2009 2:13 PM EDT up reply actions  

I remember Marcus Jones from his time with the Bucs.

That guy is a genetic freak. Also, do yourself a favor and don’t google image search his name.

by Albertrayon on Jun 2, 2009 11:36 PM EDT reply actions  

Interesting site with a some information (and pictures from the TUF 10 open tryouts): http://www.fightbomb.com/Fight-Schedule/the-ultimate-fighter-10.html

They are also sayinng these guys are on the show:
Darrell Schoonover
Justin Wren
Abe Wagner

by who me on Jun 3, 2009 12:01 AM EDT reply actions  

Wes Shivers is huge.

by who me on Jun 3, 2009 2:12 PM EDT up reply actions  

Yup

I hope he has improved since that video tho. :(

by mythbuster on Jun 3, 2009 3:10 PM EDT up reply actions  

He looked pretty worn out for a fight that ended in the first round, wasn’t that fight at superheavyweight?

Still who would of ever thought there would be the potential for multiple weight cutting dramas in a all heavyweight season?

by who me on Jun 3, 2009 3:26 PM EDT up reply actions  

lol

Maybe that’s why everyone automatically got into the house. Would have been too many people missing weight.

by mythbuster on Jun 3, 2009 4:42 PM EDT up reply actions  

Schaub

is a real prospect in my eyes. Good to see him getting some exposure.

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

http://CurseOfRonKarkovice.blogspot.com/

by Brent Brookhouse on Jun 3, 2009 2:53 PM EDT reply actions  

He’s bound to be one of the favorites to win the whole thing.

by who me on Jun 3, 2009 3:07 PM EDT up reply actions  

Absolutely. My pick to win TUF. He isn’t as big as some of these guys, but he is a very solid prospect even without TUF. I have seen him fight a few times and he has trained bjj with us at my school a couple of times and he has some skill. Also a very nice guy every time I have been around him, whether on the mat or out and about. This season appears tailor made to keep Kimbo in the house, but it certainly isn’t tailor made for him to win it.

If you're not submitting, you're just rolling around with another guy.

by BJJDenver on Jun 3, 2009 3:08 PM EDT up reply actions  

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