Martin Kampmann turning his back on MMA?!

Is Martin Kampmann Turning His Back on MMA?

After a long stay in the UFC’s welterweight division, Martin Kampmann became a relatively well-known name in the MMA world. With huge wins against the likes of ‘The Natural Born Killer’ Carlos Condit at a UFC Fight Night and other notable wins against seasoned veteran Rick Storey and Brazilian Thiago Alves, Kampmann certainly made an impression during his time in the Octagon.
However, the Danish-born Kampmann didn’t have it all his way under the UFC banner. His last two fights ended in defeat against current world champion Johnny ‘Big Rig’ Hendricks and he also lost a rematch to Condit at another UFC Fight Night.

The two-fight skid has caused Kampmann to reconsider his option, and whether he wants to continue in the sport he has competed in since his debut in Viking Fight 3 in 2002 remains unclear. Since his last fight against Condit in 2013, Kampmann was even reportedly mulling over whether to become the new head coach at Urijah Faber’s Alpha Male gym in California after the departure of Duane ‘Bang’ Ludwig. After originally passing up the offer, Faber announced to MMA Junkie that Kampmann decided to join the team in a full-time coaching position as opposed to the head coach position.

Martin Kampmann playing poker

But MMA isn’t the only sport that Kampmann regularly participates in during downtime. The Danish athlete also plays poker, and has mixed it with the best that the sport has to offer Earlier this year, during his hiatus from MMA Kampmann appeared at the most prestigious poker tournament</a> of the year.

The Dane has been in love with poker for years, and just recently has been receiving coaching from poker professional Jason Sommerville  to help develop as a high-stakes player. And he could be learning from a lot worse, as Somerville currently has approximately $4 million in earnings so far on the live circuit.

Kampmann isn’t the first MMA-related star to transition into poker at some point of their career; UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta is also a keen poker player when his hectic schedule permits him to have a little downtime. Fertitta, is know for being the face of a well-known online poker brand as well his own portfolio of Las Vegas lan-based casinos. However, it was only after online gaming was launched in 1996 through InterCasino, that Fertitta and brother Frank decided to make forays into the world of online gaming. This was predominantly because of the affects that online gaming had on land-based casinos revenues.

And it’s through the online platforms that Kampmann has been doing his homework; competing against poker players from around the world to help him gradually sharpen his skills for another crack at poker’s biggest prize in 2015. Whether he will return to MMA at fighting level is unclear – although he does still have fights left on his UFC deal. What is clear is that even if he doesn’t he will have a lot to keep him busy.