5 UFC fighters who had unexpected jobs before making it in MMA

The world of MMA is a tough one to hack in. Often, the fighters take a lot of damage throughout their careers without really achieving much. The intense training, the hard-hitting fights in the Octagon, the weight cutting — it all takes a toll on the body. Despite that, most fighters who choose a career in MMA end up without really making their name in the game.

Then, there are those fighters who make it big and are signed to promotions like the UFC or Bellator. They are the exceptions to the rule, but for most of them, making it to the UFC was a struggle as well.

Unless someone is incredible at fighting in the Octagon, towards the beginning of professional MMA careers, they are not paid too much. In fact, for most of them, a day job to help maintain their lives and to support their fighting career is mandatory.

In this article, we will be talking about five UFC fighters who had unexpected jobs before making it big in MMA.

#5 Chael Sonnen - Real estate agent

Chael Sonnen is recognized as being one of the greatest fighters to have ever entered the Octagon. While his record might not be the best in the history of MMA, his trash talk outside the Octagon always helped to hype up any fight that he was a part of.

Apparently, before Sonnen made it big in the world of MMA, the fighter was still selling products by hyping them up, only that they were not his own fights.

It turns out that Chael Sonnen was a real estate salesman. This suits his personality completely, as Sonnen has been something of a salesman his entire life.

Heading deeper into it, however, it appears that Sonnen stumbled into legal issues in his real estate job. He pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in 2011. As per a Department of Justice statement, Sonnen "admitted that a financial transaction he conducted was designed to conceal or disguise the ownership and control of the proceeds of wire fraud."

While the issue first came up in 2006, it was laid to rest in 2011. As a result of pleading guilty, he was handed a $10,000 fine and a two-year probationary sentence.

#4 Rich Franklin

Rich 'Ace' Franklin is known for the many fights in his MMA career, where he showcased his skills inside the Octagon. Throughout his career, he fought and defeated many UFC legends, although he is best known for his two losses to Anderson Silva.

Another reason Franklin is rather notorious is for fighting at Catchweight, something he did in both his fights against Wanderlei Silva (which he won). A former UFC Middleweight Champion, he has wins against the likes of the aforementioned Silva, Nate Quarry, and even Chuck Liddell.

However, when Franklin was first starting his MMA career, he was a mathematics teacher. He had a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and earned a Master's degree in Education later at the University of Cincinnati. He would regularly teach at a school and has regaled the world with stories of how he often went in to teach maths with his hand in a cast or with a black eye to the bemusement of his students. For his work in teaching alongside his fighting career, Franklin was praised by his colleagues and his students at Oak Hills High School.

He eventually left this teaching career behind when his MMA career took off. February 21st, 2006 was declared 'Rich Franklin Day' by the mayor of Cincinnati for his work in MMA.

#3 Conor McGregor

UFC 229 Khabib v McGregor: Press Conference

'Notorious' Conor McGregor is undisputedly the most famous and controversial figure in the world of MMA. In his career, he has made history for all the right reasons (becoming the first simultaneous double Champion in two UFC weight classes) and made headlines for all the wrong reasons (his many transgressions with the law).

Often, McGregor has been considered to be one of the most successful mixed martial artists of all time. Those who argue his position in MMA cannot argue the amount of money he has made through the sport (and his one boxing fight) by which he is the richest MMA fighter in the world.

However, long before this, McGregor had rather humble origins in Ireland. He worked in kitchens and bathrooms in rural Ireland. When his family finally made the move to West Dublin, he took part in a plumbing apprenticeship. It is safe to say, knowing McGregor, that plumbing was not the future he wanted for himself. So, when he met Tom Egan, a future UFC fighter, the two became friends and he gained an immense interest in MMA.

He began training in martial arts and one day, he quit his plumbing job forever. Until he finally made his debut in UFC in 2013, McGregor was actually collecting welfare checks in Dublin.

#2 Junior dos Santos

Junior dos Santos is considered to be one of the nicest people to have entered the UFC Octagon. It appears that the reason for his manners lies in his roots.

Dos Santos spent most of his childhood in abject poverty. He was raised by his single mother in Cacador, Brazil. By the age of 10, JDS had started his first-ever job. He was an ice cream vendor on the streets, an extremely difficult profession for such a young boy. With life being as tough as it was, he was forced to take on a second job as a newspaper boy.

Throughout his childhood, poverty is what defined him, but he did not let the conditions he lived in, conquer his spirits. At the age of 21, JDS met Yuri Carlton who trained him in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He won several tournaments in BJJ and then was invited to take part in MMA. At a local institution, he trained in Mixed Martial Arts, and that was where he met his future boxing coach Luiz Dorea. This is the same boxing coach who, years later, would lead him to a UFC Heavyweight Championship reign.

Knowing about the hardship he endured in his younger years, it is incredible that Junior dos Santos reached the levels in MMA that he did. If anything, his career is a true testament to the strength of the human spirit and also explains why he is so dangerous in the Octagon — he knows what he is fighting for.

#1 Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva, aka 'The Spider', is considered by many to be the best MMA fighter of all time. This particular recognition might have been dented when he failed a drug test, but many fans overlook this transgression due to the level to which he took his career. He held the UFC Middleweight Title for 7 years during which he was undefeated. Currently, he may be known for being one of the most famous MMA millionaires, but his early life was very different from the life he knows today.

Much like JDS, Anderson Silva only knew poverty while growing up in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He trained in BJJ and learned a lot by watching the richer children on the mat. He would copy their training sessions by himself, although he later got other sparring partners. In his late teenage years, Silva worked at a fast food outlet — a local McDonald's — for a long time. When he became an adult, The Spider, who would later be known for spinning intricate webs in the Octagon and defeating ferocious opponents, was a file clerk.

Sticking to tradition, Silva still cheats on his fight week diet with a McDonald's burger. While his legacy may be irreparably damaged following the drug tests, Anderson Silva defines coming from humble beginnings to achieve success of the highest magnitude.

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