The ex-England rugby player is ‘a full-on professional sportsman again’ but his new life in mixed martial arts is a test like no other
“I’m in the dungeon in Wembley five times a week, training with fighters, and there is no let-up,” James Haskell says as he explains his transition from being an England rugby player who won 77 caps to the far darker and more dangerous world of mixed martial arts. Haskell has also recently become a reality television celebrity, since his appearance in the jungle, but the seriousness of trying to learn how to fight now consumes his massive frame. It is just as well because, in the next few days, details of his first fight will be announced as Haskell prepares to make his MMA debut on a Bellator promotion.
“There’s no ‘oh let’s make it some showbiz thing’,” Haskell says, resting his battered arm in a sling after another long day at the Shootfighters gym where he is working alongside established MMA fighters who are desperate to gain the kind of recognition his past career offers him. “They treat me like every other fighter,” Haskell says of his coaches and gym-mates. “I’m bottom of the food chain. I went from being top dog to bottom feeder. It’s an interesting place.”
Written by Donald McRae
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/feb/17/james-haskell-when-youre-being-choked-in-the-mma-cage-its-horrific under the title “
“. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
