5 Cricketers who could've been MMA fighters
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is known as the ‘Savage Science’ while Cricket is referred to as ‘The Gentleman’s Sport’. Quite the opposites, right? Not really folks!
Regardless of whether you’re a lover of the savage science or a purist of the gentleman’s sport, you can’t deny the fact that both aforementioned sports demand a high-level of skill, will, training and dedication, among many other things.
Cricket features several elite athletes known for their power, endurance, speed and agility. And it goes without saying that MMA is one of the most, if not THE most physically and mentally demanding sports in the world.
MMA has seen several cross-over stars step into the cage and find varying levels of success as Mixed Martial Artists, namely Brock Lesnar, Matt Mitrione, Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm, Valentina Shevchenko and several others.
That brings us to today’s special edition where we take a look at some of Cricket’s top stars and how well they’d be able to transition their athletic abilities from the pitch to the cage. Let’s take a look:
#5 AB de Villiers
When you talk about MMA, the first thing that comes to mind are the wild cage-fighters often portrayed as brutes in Hollywood movies.
However, that’s far from the truth, MMA is a legitimate sport and as evidenced by the success of several gentleman-like, intelligent fighters such as Georges St-Pierre, Stephen Thompson, Daniel Cormier, Junior Dos Santos and many others; the savage science boasts of several smart and knowledgeable competitors.
Now when you think of modern day cricket and about the smartest professionals in the gentleman’s sport, the first name that pops up is none other than the South-African phenom AB de Villiers.
Standing at 5’10” tall, AB is one of the smaller athletes in modern-day cricket, however, he more than makes up for it with his otherworldly skills, impeccable timing and his hawk-like hand-eye coordination. The multi-talented de Villiers has also excelled in the sports of golf, tennis, rugby, among others.
Now mind you, as fans, our job is fantasy matchmaking and speculation, and with that said, AB has all the basic skills required to be a great MMA fighter.
His penchant for learning, his timing, co-ordination, footwork, ability to cut angles on the field and delivering excellent performances whilst being under pressure makes him the perfect candidate for a transition to the cage.
The SA star is truly one of the greatest of all time and would have done just fine in the MMA world as well.
Which brings us to cricket’s most destructive force...