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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Matt Erickson and Abbey Subhan

Kobe Bryant, LeBron James gave ex-hooper Christian Duncan inspiration to make the move to MMA

Christian Duncan Kobe Bryant LeBron James UFC UFC 286 London

LONDON – A UFC newcomer isn’t counting MMA fighters among his biggest inspirations for becoming a fighter.

Sure, as he started training, he looked at fighters like Demetrious Johnson to see how they did things. But more than anything, Christian Duncan drew inspiration from a pair of legendary basketball players: Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

“When I was younger and I first started playing basketball around 14, it was more their style,” Duncan said at Wednesday’s media day for UFC 286 in London. “The flash of Kobe and the dominance of LeBron, I like the creativity – Kobe with the fadeaway shots, the footwork, and LeBron, just the overall dominance, going into the paint, finishing on top of guys.

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