I was a professional soccer player and Zlatan Ibrahimovic was my idol before dramatic career change – now I’m fighting UFC veteran for MMA world title

Ion Surdu grew up, watching Zlatan Ibrahimovic play soccer, dreaming of one day emulating his hero. But instead, he fell down the path of combat, with the athlete set for the biggest opportunity of his life this weekend.

At Oktagon 64, ‘Dracul’ will fight for the welterweight championship inside the SAP Garden in Munich, Germany.

Ion Surdu wanted to be a footballer, and now he’s a championship fighter

In a matter of days, Ion Surdu will go head-to-head with UFC veteran, Kaik Brito, for Oktagon gold, in a quest to achieve the glory he once hoped he’d reach in soccer

Born in Moldova, before moving to Romania at the age of 11, the sportsman fell in love with the beautiful game, watching a player he believes defines ‘personality and character’ in the form of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, hammer the ball into the back of the net.

Inspired by the Swedish legend, the future mixed martial artist started playing himself, quickly realizing he had a talent.

After working hard on the training ground, Surdu took the next step, signing on the dotted line to play at a decent level in Eastern Europe

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In an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow, he said: “When I was in high school, my dream was to play soccer professionally and be one of the best players. I signed a contract with a team, but the manager wasn’t doing very well, so then I moved down to the third division.

“At that level, soccer is not the best pay, you cant live just from soccer. There were no thoughts at this point about becoming an MMA fighter; I love soccer. But with some of the politics in the team at the time, it was hard to get into the team.

“That’s why I love MMA now; it is about being the best of the best, and also, it is up to you yourself, not relying on other people. You don’t have to rely on the other ten players! If you train hard, then you’re responsible for your result.”

It seems the fighter made the right decision, proving his skills in the cage beyond doubt, most recently knocking out David Kozma in front of 27,000 roaring fans at Eden Stadium in Prague, Czech Republic.

Ion Surdu has something special planned for Kaik Brito

While his rival has experience in the UFC, Surdu is more than confident that he’s come up with a method to render his opponent unconscious and claim the biggest prize in European MMA.

The 29-year-old told Oktagon: “He is dangerous, young, experienced, and always moving forward. But we have prepared something special for him. I do not think this fight will go the distance.

“I predict it ends in the third or fourth round with a good counter and perfect timing.”  

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