From the NY Daily News:

Starting Friday, the Jets outside linebacker began serving a four-game suspension, handed down before training camp for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing supplements. Instead of passing the time in New Jersey or at his home in Atlanta, Pace will spend the next two weeks working out with Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) guru Randy Couture.

"The reason why I'm doing MMA is it's probably the closest thing you can find to football as far as conditioning, cardiovascular and the physical aspect," Pace said after the Jets' 38-27 win over the Eagles Thursday night in their final preseason game. "I'm not going to be fighting and I'm not going to be getting hit. I'm just going to be training my behind off."

Pace will have company. He will be training with Saints defensive linemen Will Smith and Charles Grant, both of whom are serving league suspensions for similar violations. MMA is a growing sport, if you can call it that, and professional athletes are starting to use the MMA training regimen for conditioning purposes.

This is further confirmation of the overlap between the training it takes to fight in the NFL and in MMA. It's also an indication that if NFL players are willing to trust their bodies -- their biggest asset -- to MMA trainers, then the top MMA camps have arrived as truly world-class training centers.

It's also a reminder that in only a couple of weeks we'll be seeing four former NFL players test themselves on The Ultimate Fighter. Did I mention that I'm totally stoked for this season of TUF for the first time in years?