NASCAR Drivers Take Their Training to the Octagon (Sort Of)

Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek train regularly at the Toyota Performance Center in Mooresville, North Carolina, but they described getting to work with retired mixed martial artist legend Forrest Griffin as “a lot of fun.”

Jones and Nemechek visited the Ultimate Fighting Championship Performance Institute while in Las Vegas. Griffin, a former UFC Light Heavyweight champion and a UFC Hall of Fame member, is now the vice president of athlete development at the UFC Performance Institute.

“Being able to somewhat spar against him was a really good time,” Nemechek said. “I actually enjoyed it and, I mean, he’s a legend. Being able to just be in his presence and chat and understand things that they go through, their mindset and how they prepare for fights, their recovery aspect. There was a lot there that we were able to see and dive into and ask questions about … a little bit of a crossover from our world to theirs. It was super unique, super interesting and had a lot of fun.”

Jones wasn’t as enthusiastic about sparring with Griffin as Nemechek.

“I don’t know if I enjoyed the sparring very much,” Jones said. “I was pretty scared to try to hit him in the face like he told me. His eyes get kind of crazy when you start going. I was like … I don’t really want to get hit in the face here, but it was cool.”