“The majority of high-level basketball players, they’re competitive,” Britton said. “In basketball, we can get physical, but not as much. I was a point guard, but I was physical. To be able to continue to do that and be that is kind of cool.”
Britton understands that although he’s 7-2 and been in plenty of fights in his day, he still isn’t seen as the favorite some of the time. Despite his 6’4” featherweight frame, “Bad Newz” can’t compare his time in the sport to lifelong martial artists, but his time on the court wasn’t a waste of good MMA years.
He noticed that on top of his height and reach, some of the necessary agility to play professional basketball made Britton’s adjustment from shooting to striking smooth as silk.
“I think the footwork in basketball translates right over to basketball,” Britton said. “When I came over to MMA and I got to doing boxing, that stuff just worked for me. Coaches would always tell me it was just second nature to me and that it looked like I’ve been at this a long time.”