[Saba Sports News] According to British media reports, Brighton head coach Fabian Hürzeler has brought a mixed martial arts fighter into the team’s training sessions to help improve the side’s set-piece performance. The MMA athlete in question is German fighter Christian Eckerlin, nicknamed “The King of Frankfurt”. Hürzeler said: “We invited him in because I feel we’ve talked a lot about set pieces, about blocking, and about the new trends in the Premier League. We’re also working hard to adapt to them. I don’t always want our club to be known for being too easy-going. At certain moments, you have to be really tough in individual duels, and there are many different ways to show that toughness. There are various methods of using blocking tactics, and countless techniques to win one-on-one battles, especially in attacking and defending set pieces. And a mixed martial artist is constantly competing in one-on-one contests.”
The editor believes that this is not the first time Hürzeler has worked with combat sports athletes. Last July, British welterweight boxer and Brighton fan Harlem Eubank revealed that Hürzeler had trained alongside him and spoke highly of the manager.