Mitrione: I feel like a baby in MMA
Most people would be thankful to have the opportunity to excel at one sport in their lifetime, but I’ve been…
Most people would be thankful to have the opportunity to excel at one sport in their lifetime, but I’ve been lucky enough to have a stab at two of them. As some of you will know, before making my UFC debut in 2009, I played in the NFL for the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings. I’m 33 years of age now, but feel like a baby in mixed martial arts. This sport has given me a new lease of life as an athlete and allowed me the chance to reinvent myself on the sport’s biggest stage.
I think about that all the time. I’m so incredibly blessed to be doing what I am doing right now, coming off a career in the NFL. I didn’t even jump straight from the NFL into the UFC, either. I had a two-year hiatus in corporate America. I’ve had three separate lives in many ways. I’ve been the footballer, I’ve been the working guy and I’ve been the fighter. I’m incredibly fortunate that my body has been able to maintain itself throughout this journey and that I’ve had great people around me who have opened doors and helped me along the way.