Basketball and Mixed Martial Arts are two very different sports. But the two may be more similar than you’d think. A lot of action is happening, under the boards for instance. A lot of pushing and shoving to block a player out of the lane, or to get or protect the ball.
In the video below, you can see UFC star Donald Cerrone using his mixed martial arts training to improve Blake’s ability on the court.
We know that Blake Griffin can dunk, shoot, rebound and block. But can he grapple? Can he kick? Can he box? Can he stick and move?
MMA fighter Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone recently got up close and personal with the NBA star and found out those answers.
Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone trains NBA star Blake Griffin
As the UFC’s second-ranked lightweight, Cerrone was able to teach a thing or two to Griffin about his sport.
The Crossover is a new Web series featuring Griffin, a forward on the Los Angeles Clippers, trying his hand at different sports and exploring all his training options in order to reach his goals.
Griffin learned new ways to hold his ground as he bangs with the NBA’s biggest players under the basket.
In basketball, there’s a lot of pushing, grabbing and shoving going on that nobody else sees, he said. I thought it was awesome that he customized his workout towards what’s gonna help me.
Throughout the workout, Griffin found that Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone’s success in the octagon starts and ends with hip flexibility and strength.
Cerrone said, Everything that we do in my sport has to do with your core and your hips. We worked on hand-and-hip coordination.
The athletes sweated it out working on jab-hook combinations and proper technique for striking an opponent. Once Griffin put the gloves on, Cerrone knew he was dealing with a powerful athlete.
Anyone can throw the haymaker, crazy punch, but he was real straight and down the pipe, the MMA star said. He’s got talent.
Griffin learned that in mixed martial arts, fighters like the 6-foot-1 Cerrone need every edge they can get.
Blake Austin Griffin is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners, when he was named the Consensus National Player of the Year as a sophomore.
