While Khabib Nurmagomedov is undoubtedly one of the greatest competitors in UFC history, on the ice rink, Akonne Wanliss reckons he’d have the Russian’s number.
While ice hockey fighting doesn’t quite garner the same level of respect from purists as what goes on inside the cage, there’s no doubt that trading punches while balancing on ice skates is an extremely difficult skill to master.
Therefore, even the world’s best martial artists would fall flat on their faces if they attempted to launch a blow on the slippery surface, which opens up the door for Wanliss to pick up some pretty impressive wins.
That’s right. While fans today know and love ‘The Jedi’ for his love of Star Wars and phenomenal performances in Oktagon MMA, his life could’ve taken a very different path.
Born with natural athleticism, the sportsman gravitated towards the pace, adrenaline rush and undeniable violence that ice hockey brings to the table, quickly unlocking a talent that nearly took him to the pinnacle of the sport.
In an interview with MMA TV Live, he explained: “I used to play ice hockey with the Telford Spartans, which is a recreational team. But I wanted to take it really seriously; I’d gotten very good. I was begging my mum to take me to Canada. I said, ‘Send me to Canada, I want to play with the Calgary Flames’. I was very serious about it. When you mix in the fighting skills, you wouldn’t want to mess me on the ice. I’d be a demolition man on the rink.”
However, while his love for ice hockey burned bright, he ultimately followed his dream of competing in mixed martial arts, amassing a remarkable record that has led him to co-headlining Oktagon 56 at the Resorts World Arena on April 20 against Sahil Siraj.
However, while his bout against the Swede is undeniably one to look forward to, Wanliss can’t help but wonder about how match-ups against the best in the business would go down on ice. And unsurprisingly, whether it’s Jon Jones or Khabib Nurmagomedov, he’s convinced he could beat any of them.
He laughed: “I could take out everybody. I don’t think many MMA fighters can ice skate. You could put Jon Jones in, and he’d be flying everywhere. You could put Khabib in there and he wouldn’t be able to wrestle me. Stick them all in at once, if they can’t skate, they’re f*cked.”
Fans can watch Oktagon 56 live on DAZN.
