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Being a UFC fighter is undoubtedly one of the toughest jobs in the world. After all, how many people on the planet would enjoy beating people up and getting beaten up as part of their day job?
Plenty of UFC fighters have worked alternative jobs over the years. Some others would probably have ended up doing different professions had they not taken up fighting, too.
So with this in mind, here are five UFC stars and their alternate professions if not for fighting.
#1 Jose Aldo (former UFC featherweight champion) – Professional footballer
Currently fighting in the UFC’s bantamweight division, Jose Aldo is an all-time great of the UFC. He held the UFC featherweight title from 2011 to 2015, defending it on seven occasions.
Aldo has beaten the likes of Chad Mendes, Frankie Edgar and Chan Sung Jung inside the octagon. But if he had not gotten into MMA, Aldo could well have taken up another sport professionally.
The Brazilian has spoken on many occasions of his love for football (or soccer) and played the sport as a child, reportedly to a pretty decent level.
His awesome leg kicks have been credited to his background in soccer, and he’s shown off his skills in numerous charity matches, most notably embarrassing Brazilian superstar Neymar with a flick in December 2014.
A fan of Chelsea and Flamengo, whether Aldo could’ve reached the top of the football world as he did in the UFC is anyone’s guess. But he certainly possesses the athleticism and drive to have given it a good go.
#2 Michael Bisping (former UFC middleweight champion) – DJ
Michael Bisping is recognized as the greatest UFC fighter to ever emerge from the UK.
A highly ranked fighter in the UFC middleweight division, Bisping defeated the likes of Anderson Silva, Denis Kang and Yoshihiro Akiyama during his decade-long UFC career. He also captured the UFC middleweight title from Luke Rockhold in 2016.
It seems unthinkable that Bisping could’ve had a career as anything but a fighter, but that isn’t necessarily the case.
In fact, Bisping could well have been sharing a stage with the likes of Calvin Harris and David Guetta rather than brawling inside the octagon had things turned out differently.
Prior to his MMA career taking off, The Count was a renowned DJ in his hometown of Manchester, England. Bisping would regularly perform sets in some of the city’s clubs.
Since his 2017 retirement from MMA, Bisping has become well-known for his color commentating. But his SoundCloud page suggests that he could've done pretty well had he gone down the DJing path.
#3 Israel Adesanya (current UFC middleweight champion) – Professional dancer
The UFC has already seen two of its stars take part in the famed Dancing with the Stars series.
While Chuck Liddell was well, awful, Paige VanZant was clearly excellent, finishing in second place in 2016. However, the UFC fighter who could probably have made it as a professional dancer is current UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya.
The Last Stylebender has reportedly always been fond of dancing and has shown off his moves on more than one occasion, both inside and outside the octagon.
In 2019, for instance, a video appeared on Twitter of him entertaining some people with his dance moves just weeks after he defeated Kelvin Gastelum for the interim UFC middleweight title.
UFC President Dana White was apparently unimpressed by Adesanya's dance routine prior to his fight with Robert Whittaker. However, it was evidently something that worked for The Last Stylebender, who claimed the UFC middleweight title with a knockout.
It’s clear from his fighting style that Adesanya has plenty of rhythm. And it’s likely that his skills in the cage have helped with his skills on the dancefloor and vice versa.
So had he not taken up fighting, could we have seen Adesanya as one of the professionals on a show like Dancing with the Stars? Stranger things have happened.
#4 Brian Ortega - Pop singer
Many UFC fighters have involved themselves in the music business over the years.
Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, for instance, has released a number of hip-hop and rap videos online. Others, such as Chuck Liddell and Alistair Overeem, have starred in music videos from bands like Nickelback and LMFAO.
But could current UFC featherweight title contender Brian Ortega have gone into a career as an aspiring musician had he not taken up MMA?
It sounds bizarre, but it’s actually plausible.
In the UFC 226 Embedded series in 2018, Ortega was shown strumming a guitar and singing the classic track La Bamba. Surprisingly enough, T-City sounded pretty great.
Ortega then went on to explain that he’d been playing the guitar since he was 17 years old after stealing an instrument because he couldn’t afford to buy it.
Could Ortega have made it to the top in a ruthless business like the music one? Who knows? But given the drive and determination he’s shown in the UFC, you wouldn't write his chances off.
#5 Alexander Volkanovski (current UFC featherweight champion) – Professional rugby player
Alexander Volkanovski is the current UFC featherweight champion. And with wins over the likes of Max Holloway, Chad Mendes and Jose Aldo, he could be seen as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet.
However, Alexander the Great could well have found himself involved in another sport professionally had things turned out differently.
The Australian wrestled in high school but gave up that sport to take up Rugby League.
Volkanovski was so good that he ended up playing the sport on a semi-professional basis for the Warilla Gorillas. He also won an award in 2010 as his league’s best player.
However, at the age of 23, before he’d had a chance to turn professional, Volkanovski gave up the sport to focus on MMA. And, of course, he’s had plenty of success since.
But who knows, had he continued playing rugby, he could well have been locking horns with the likes of Cameron Smith and James Tedesco in the NRL instead.
