Odell Beckham Jr trained to beat NFL opponents with ‘hours and hours’ in MMA gym

Even the most marginal gains can go a long way in American football, and Odell Beckham Jr. isn't one to skip on a potential edge.

As the star wide receiver showed early on in his career when he added mixed martial arts training to his regimen. Beckham has long been noted for his catching skill and finishing ability when open – but it was getting into those positions that had proved more problematic.

That's why the LSU graduate ventured to the Sunset Boulevard Gym in Los Angeles after his debut year in the NFL (2014), hoping to use MMA to improve his knack for finding space. And the results speak for themselves after fashioning himself into one of the league's most valuable wide-outs.

As trainer Jay Glazer put it to Sports Illustrated: "If you're going to put your hands on someone, [you] might as well make it hurt."

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The NFL authorities might have something to say about that last part, but then American football isn't big on pleasantries. And neither will Beckham be as he looks braced for his league comeback in Baltimore.

The 30-year-old won the Super Bowl after joining the Los Angeles Rams midway through the 2021 campaign. However, it wasn't long after a forgettable stay with the Cleveland Browns was marred by injury that another knee issue arose.

Beckham was forced to sit out the entire 2022 campaign as a result, but the Ravens have signed him on a one-year option to bring him back into the NFL ranks.

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And there's plenty of reason to be excited that the player could yet produce some of his former best on the field. That's after the man who boasts arguably the most famous catch in the sport scored five touchdowns in just seven starts with the Rams.

That 2021 tally was the highest tally Beckham had recorded in a single season since 2018, albeit far from the career-best 13 he managed in his sophomore year back in 2015. And maybe prioritising those MMA-inspired drills will be the key to getting such a potent weapon in play.

It's especially exciting news for Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who himself committed to the franchise with a new contract in May. The five-year, $260 million (£204m) deal makes Jackson the highest-paid player in NFL history, and a team-up with Beckham in 2023 could terrorise defences.

Baltimore have made the post-season in four of the past five campaigns but haven't advanced beyond the divisional play-offs since winning the Super Bowl in 2012. The Ravens will claw and scratch their way to improve upon that run this year, though Beckham will look to keep things above the belt in his bid to return to greatness.

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