On Thursday afternoon, Major League Soccer Club Houston Dynamo and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) met inside the cage for the first time.
Hopefully, this isn’t the only time that a MLS Club and the UFC collaborate in promoting a each other’s respective sport. As a fan of both sports, I remember when the MLS and UFC were in danger of becoming extinct.
Now, I’m amazed and proud on how both organizations were able to weather the storm only to persevere over time. With the growth and universal acceptance of both sports, fans will have the opportunity to watch plenty of action for many years to come.
With UFC 136: Edgar vs Maynard III taking place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Houston Dynamo players Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron and Corey Ashe were on hand to help promote the upcoming UFC event. The trio had the opportunity to meet current UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo and his Saturday night opponent, Kenny Florian.
In a display of mutual respect and good sportsmanship, both fighters met inside the cage for kick-up contest judged by the Dynamo Players. Both fighters had no trouble in showing off the juggling skills which they honed over the years of playing soccer.
Kenny Florian, who is hoping that third time is the charm in capturing gold, has admitted in the past that he has more years of experience playing soccer than he has training in mixed martial arts. In addition, he even had a short-lived stint playing soccer while attending Boston College.
Based on the performance from both fighters, it will be interesting to see which fighter has the more educated feet when they meet for the title on Saturday. Aldo and Florian juggled it out to draw and appeared to enjoy mingling with the Boswell, Cameron and Ashe.
Following the contest, Aldo and Florian were each presented with a Houston Dynamo jersey.
Click here to see photos from Thursday’s event.
Watch Bobby Boswell and Kenny Florian discuss their passion for the others’ sport.
About the Houston Dynamo
The Houston Dynamo are a Major League Soccer club that has won two MLS Cup championships in its first four seasons and represented the United States in international competition in four consecutive years.
For more information, log on to www.HoustonDynamo.com or call 1.713.276.7500.
Cesar Diaz covers Soccer for LatinoSports.com. He also writes for USSoccerPlayers.com; your source for American Soccer news brought to you by members of the U.S. National Team. Reach Cesar at [email protected] and at Twitter at @CoveringSoccer.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com