(Good work, Ed. Position before submission.)
Al Bundy may have exaggerated his exploits at Polk High, but the actor who portrayed him on Married With Children, Ed O’Neill, actually has real athletic chops to speak of. O’Neill played linebacker in college at Ohio State and Youngstown State University, and was briefly signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers where, according to O’Neill, “I stayed for about a minute.”
While acting in Hollywood, O’Neill discovered the gentle art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He began training under Rorian Gracie and never stopped, earning a black belt in 2007.
“I began studying Gracie Jiu Jitsu over 20 years ago,” said O’Neill in a Metamoris press release distributed Tuesday. “I was actually very hesitant to start, but a 10-minute session with Rorion Gracie was enough to get me hooked. For me, studying Jiu Jitsu has been an amazing experience. In a way it’s given me a second family.”
O’Neill will provide color commentary for the highly-anticipated submission-only pro invitational Metamoris II, which takes place in Los Angeles on June 9th and will be broadcast live on their website, metamoris.com. O’Neill will join his long-time teacher’s son, Rener Gracie, in providing the commentary for the Metamoris II stream.
From what we’ve seen, O’Neill is capable of providing insightful analysis and we all know he can kick ass. We’re not usually big on celebrity gimmick appearances but O’Neill doing fight commentary makes perfect sense to us. Feel free to react to this news accordingly.
The full Metamoris II lineup is after the jump…
Official Metamoris II Card:
Shinya Aoki vs. Kron Gracie
Braulio Estima vs. Rodolfo Vieira
Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu vs. Brendan Schaub
Mackenzie Dern vs. Michelle Nicolini
Andre Galvao vs. Rafael Lovato Jr.
Bill “The Grill” Cooper vs. Victor Estima*
*Cooper was originally scheduled to face Ryan Hall but Hall has pulled out of the match because of injury.
Doors open at 3 pm PST
Royce Gracie autograph signing from 3-4 pm PST
Broadcast begins at 4 pm PST