Catching Up with PFL Challenger Series' Jon Cunningham

At PFL Challenger Series 6, Jon Cunningham will attempt to prove that he is in mixed martial arts to stay. Cunningham (1-0) is a former professional football player who was once a defensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. After his football career, Cunningham rediscovered his old passion for wrestling and transitioned to MMA. The Jackson-Wink MMA standout is now set to collide with Daiqwon Buckley on Friday as both men hope to sign a contract with the Professional Fighters League for the upcoming regular season.

While talking with Sherdog, Cunningham discussed his path from the NFL to MMA, commented on his training camp and his full-time job, and more.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro
(00:34) His full-time job as a teacher
(01:20) Whether his students know that he’s an MMA fighter
(02:05) Commenting on Greg Hardy’s path from the NFL to MMA
(03:22) His transition from the NFL to MMA
(04:33) Commenting on Tom Brady’s return after his short retirement
(05:08) Training at Jackson-Wink MMA
(06:42) Watching film of his opponent
(07:07) His professional MMA debut
(08:06) What he expects from the PFL experience
(09:07) Commenting on the PFL format
(10:03) Whether he’s allowed to have a walkout song
(10:27) Not having a message for Buckley
(11:05) Outro

Tudor Leonte started writing about mixed martial arts in 2013 for Italian media outlets. His journey with Sherdog began in 2018 and he now covers One Championship and countless European shows. You can follow him on Twitter @MrTudorLeonte.