Sherdog’s Top 10: Stick-and-Ball Crossovers

Brendan Schaub traded in his helmet and facemask for MMA. | Photo: D. Mandel/Sherdog.com

4. Brendan Schaub

Before he successfully completed a takedown inside the Octagon, Schaub was blocking would-be tacklers as a fullback on the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad. His brief tour in the NFL followed a stint with the Arena Football League’s Utah Blaze and a successful college football career at the University of Colorado.

However, the promise of the gridiron did not grow beyond the practice squad, as “Big Brown” was faced with a career choice. Schaub delved full-bore into MMA and eventually hooked up with Nate Marquardt at the High Altitude Martial Arts gym in Denver. Thus far, the change seems to have paid dividends for Schaub, who sports a 10-4 record, with wins against the likes of Lavar Johnson, Mirko Filipovic, Matt Mitrione and Gabriel Gonzaga.

Now training out of Reign MMA, Schaub has gotten past the point of needing to prove he belongs in MMA. When he next appears, the 31-year-old will look to bounce back from a controversial split decision loss against Andrei Arlovski at UFC 174 and get firmly entrenched as a top 10 heavyweight in the UFC.

Number 3 » Herschel Walker