- Brendan Fevola got beat up in his first MMA fight
- The football legend took on Tony ‘The Tradie’ Ciccone
- He said he needs to improve his fitness
Brendan Fevola got a lesson in mixed martial arts in his cage fighting debut this weekend.
But the footy cult hero smiled despite all the pain.
While the fight technically ended in a draw, Carlton legend Fevola learned a lot from experienced rival Tony ‘The Tradie’ Ciccone at Festival Hall on Saturday evening.
The main takeaway, he revealed, was that he needed to train more for the competition.
‘It was actually a lot of fun. Maybe I will do it again, but this time I will train,” Fevola said after the event.
Brendan Fevola smiled through all the pain in his first-ever MMA fight
The Carlton Stat was beaten up by his seasoned opponent on Saturday evening
Fevola didn’t know he would be fighting in the cage after being pranked by his colleagues on Fox FM.
He arrived at the arena expecting to take part in a traditional boxing fight, but was told he would be taking part in a mixed martial arts match.
“Considering I thought it was a boxing fight when I signed up, and I asked for headgear, they said ‘all you need are shin guards,’ and I said ‘why?’ – I think I did well,’ said Fevola.
“But I don’t think it was a draw… congratulations Tony.”
Despite being dominated during the fight, Fevola smiled and winked the entire time as his terrified daughter, Mia Fevola, watched in the cage.
Other famous faces were in attendance including Collingwood stars Jack Crisp and Brody Mihocek, North Melbourne legend Brent Harvey, former Carlton star Ben Silvagni and Australian boxer Michael Zerafa.
“He was 17kg heavier than me,” Fevola said.
Fevola’s daughter Mia supported her father from Cageside in Melbourne
“I weighed 115kg this morning and he weighed 132kg. He was too hard to get off of me once he was on top of me,” Fevola said.
“Only my lungs hurt. I don’t think he hit me much. I gave him a lot. I don’t feel like I’ve been hit.
“He tried to break my arm at one point. I was like, ‘aargh’.
“Then I saw my buddy Nate Myles and I smiled at him, then my mouthguard fell out.
“Then I saw Jack Crisp from Collingwood when I was lying on the ground and I winked at him and he said, ‘Hey’, and I thought, ‘What am I doing?’.”
He entered the ring for the Culture Club classic Do You Real Want to Hurt Me.