A former footballer who once "played with world champions" is now chasing his dreams of becoming a fighting champion.
Christian Eckerlin cut his footballing journey short when he retired at the age of just 21 after a fallout with his coach at the time, with the highest level he reached being the German third division.
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Alongside his football, the former player is said to have taken up boxing while he was 14 years old. The 37-year-old, speaking to SunSport, that he went up against some big names during his playing days, adding that he is still friends with some of them to this day.
"I played against Mats Hummels, Bastian Schweinsteiger, very famous soccer players," he said.
"I played against first-division players. I still have many friends that still play now in the Bundeliga: Marcos Reus, Marius Wolf, [Kevin] Prince Boateng.
"So many, Kevin Trapp from Eintracht Frankfurt. They will also come on Saturday night to support me after they have their game."
He explained how he got back into fighting after his time as a footballer.
"We were at a festival drinking beer and I had a fight with three guys. My friend said, 'Hey, what are you doing? It's crazy.' Don't fight on the streets, come to my gym. At this time, I was playing soccer.
"But he said, 'Come, please.' I said, 'I'll come one day.' Then the time comes when I stop soccer and I thought back to him."
He went on to reveal that his friend praised the talent he showed during their first sparring session. After gathering some inspiration from watching professionals go head-to-head, Eckerlin began focusing on his fighting career and made his professional debut as a Mixed Martial Artist in 2009.
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According to Sherdog, the former footballer has a professional MMA record of 15 wins and six losses.
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