Former NFL Player Jermaine Wiggins Training to Be an MMA Fighter

With the popularity of mixed martial arts on the rise in households across America, many thought it was only a matter of time before more pro athletes began testing their abilities in the sport.

Former NFL wide receiver Johnnie Morton took to the sport but was unfortunately knocked out in the first round of his first fight and then declined to take a steroid test afterward. Fellow former NFL wide receiver Michael Westbrook is a well-known jiu-jitsu teacher as well.

Even former pro wrestler Brock Lesnar is now a big-time mixed martial artist in the UFC with a heavyweight title fight coming up against Randy Couture.

Now, you can add former NFL tight end Jermaine Wiggins to that list. Wiggins played the Patriots and Vikings among others and is best known for his amazing game in the "Tuck Rule" game for Tom Brady and the Patriots in 2002 when he made several key first down catches in the snow.

Wiggins was 6'2, 250 pounds in his playing days and now he is looking to learn the nuances of mixed martial arts, where he would most likely fight in the heavyweight division.

The Massachusetts native will be blogging about his experiences on www.fightmagazine.com about his experiences learning how to fight leading up to his professional debut. He says he wants to be a well-rounded fighter who can fight on the ground, standing up, and everywhere in between but as Morton can tell him, it definitely won't be easy. There are many aspects to MMA that take most fighters years to learn.

Wiggins is a very good athlete for his size, however, so it will be interesting to watch his progression. He is only 33 years old which is fairly young for a player with 8 years of experience in the NFL as Wiggins has.