MMA star Tom Crosby was convinced to pack up Rugby League for a career in the cage after watching iconic episodes of The Ultimate Fighter.
Crosby played at semi-professional level before taking up MMA at 23 as a way to gain a fitness edge.
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He got the bug for it after watching reality TV show TUF, where competitors lived, trained and fought each other for a UFC contract.
After two years of fantasising over the sport, Crosby made the decision to swap the pitch for punches by moving into MMA full time.
He said: “I was a semi-pro Rugby League player, and I was just looking for extra ways to get fit and I had also just started to watch the Ultimate Fighter at this time.
“At the age of 23, I used to go to HMV when I could afford it and get the boxsets for the Ultimate Fighter and I remember thinking, ‘These guys are sound, and I could see myself having a go at this’.
“From there, I found a gym near me called Caged Steel and I did a bit of training on and off, without ever really fully committing.
“I went off to Australia for a year to play rugby and didn’t really do much MMA when I was out there, and then when I came back in 2012, I just fully focused on MMA.
“I tried to do a bit of rugby and MMA when I came back to the UK, but I kept getting injured and so I put a full stop to rugby and kickstarted my MMA career at the age of 25.”
Crosby, 36, made his amateur debut in 2013 before turning professional five years later.
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He now stands 8-3-1 and recently signed for European promotion Oktagon MMA, losing a tight decision to Miroslav Broz in February.
But his return was delayed after he suffered a freak thumb injury so Crosby is eyeing a June 8 comeback in Prague.
He said: “In surgery, they said I wouldn’t be able to punch at all for 12 weeks, but I am guessing that is the worst case scenario and I am hoping it will be much sooner than that.
“I’ve got my eye on that Prague card at the moment, but I just can’t commit until the pin comes out of my thumb and the splint comes off, so I just have to be patient with it.”
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