The UFC could come knocking after seeing what ex-NFL star Jon Cunningham can do inside the cage.
A number of former American football players have transitioned to mixed martial arts and made it to the UFC.
Among the most successful are Brock Lesnar, Matt Mitrione, and Brendan Schaub. A few notable names have swapped the field for the cage in more recent times, including Cunningham.
The ex-Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle is known as ‘Big Bad’, and his return on Friday night proved exactly why.
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You’re Dana White for the day. Who’s the first fighter you sign to the UFC? 👀
Ex-NFL player Jon Cunningham becomes CFFC light heavyweight champion after 11-second knockout
Having impressed for the Kent State Golden Flashes and becoming a two-time All-Mid-American Conference selection, Cunningham signed a free agent contract with the Falcons in 2018.
After not having the kind of NFL career that he had hoped for, the 30-year-old looked to find success in another sport.
Following a victorious amateur debut in 2020, Cunningham quickly turned pro in MMA. He suffered his first loss two fights in, failing to secure a PFL contract on the promotion’s Challenger Series.
But he’s bounced back with three straight stoppage wins since then, the latest of which earned him championship glory.
Cunningham headlined Friday’s Cage Fury FC event in Philadelphia, a city that will soon host Islam Makhachev vs Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330.
The former NFL player needed just 11 seconds to defeat the previously unbeaten Ian Russell. A perfectly timed right hand did the damage before an onslaught of strikes against the cage forced the referee to intervene.
The result saw Cunningham crowned the CFFC light heavyweight champion.
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Cunningham is undoubtedly a powerful commodity inside the cage.
During his college football days, ‘Big Bad’ is said to have squatted 700 pounds and led the group in bench press at Kent State’s 2018 Pro Day, where he put up 225 pounds 25 times.
That strength could make him a dangerous prospect in the 205-pound division moving forward.
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