Did you know that a former Chelsea goalkeeper has a professional 12-3 record in Mixed Martial Arts? Ricardo Prasel is that man, and he was victorious in his Polish MMA debut over the weekend in emphatic fashion.
On the books at Chelsea for just under two years, Ricardo Prasel was in the same squad as the likes of Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Michael Ballack and Ashley Cole while at Stamford Bridge. He was Chelsea's third-choice goalkeeper under Jose Mourinho and he never managed to secure a first-team appearance.
Prasel suffered a number of significant injuries before a short stint with Belgian side RFC Luttich and was forced to retire aged just 22. He took up jiu-jitsu and then began amateur fighting in MMA - going on to become pro.
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Now, Prasel holds a record of 12-3, winning his KSW debut on Saturday night. The 31-year-old overcame a mauling in the first round in a contest by Poland’s leading MMA promoters. Fighting as a heavyweight, he was taken down and hit with some heavy blows by the powerful Michal Kita.
It was a round which saw Prasel down 10-8 on two judges' scorecards, but he found his momentum in the following round. He would land a huge shot on Kita, before going to work with his own ground and pound - securing the win via TKO.
Prasel had been on the UFC's radar in recent years, but hasn't yet made it to top level. Still aged just 31, Prasel could seemingly fight for another 10 years - so don't rule out the idea of seeing the former Chelsea stopper on the big stage.
He had previously told MMA Fighting: “Even if not for a long time, stepping a foot on the Chelsea field and seeing so many stars was a dream come true. Fighting [across the world] now is as incredible as playing for Chelsea. I saw the world through both sports.
”Drogba was f****** unbelievable, man. “I didn’t go to the games with the professionals because I was the third goalkeeper — Cech and Hilario went to the games. But I played with them every day, because after training they wanted to practice shootout free kicks, and I had to be there to try to defend it. Thirty minutes every day, Drogba and Ballack shooting free kicks. My God, they didn’t miss one. It was incredible.”
