Christian Cornelius McCain (born November 21, 1991) is a

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

and an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

who is currently a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He was signed by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2014.

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

McCain was signed by the

after going

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. Due to a knee injury, he was placed on the team's injured reserve on December 22, 2015.

New Orleans Saints

The Dolphins traded McCain to the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

for a conditional seventh round draft pick on August 29, 2016. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Saints.

Dallas Cowboys

On September 7, 2016, McCain was signed to the Cowboys' practice squad. He was released on September 28.

Second stint with Saints

On October 13, the

signed McCain to their practice squad. On October 22, McCain was promoted to the Saints active roster before their Week 7 game against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

. He was released on October 25, 2016 and re-signed to the practice squad two days later. He was promoted back to the active roster on November 5, 2016, however was released two days later.

San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers

On November 23, 2016, McCain was signed to the Chargers' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Chargers on January 3, 2017. McCain made the Chargers final roster in 2017, playing in 15 games and finished third on the team with five sacks behind

Joey Bosa Joseph Anthony Bosa (born July 11, 1995) is an American football outside linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State and was selected third overall by the (then San Di ...

and

Melvin Ingram Melvin Ingram III (born April 26, 1989) is an American football outside linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at South Carolina, and earned All-American honors. He was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the first round ...

. On March 14, 2018, set to be a restricted free agent, McCain received a right of first refusal tender by the Chargers. However, on April 15, 2018, the Chargers rescinded the tender on McCain, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Indianapolis Colts

On May 8, 2018, McCain signed with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on September 1, 2018. He was released on September 11, 2018.

Columbus Destroyers

On April 3, 2019, McCain was assigned to the

Columbus Destroyers The Columbus Destroyers were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Columbus, Ohio, with home games in Nationwide Arena. The team was founded in as the Buffalo Destroyers, based in Buffalo, New York, and relocated to Columbus in . They fold ...

. He was placed on recallable reassignment on April 19, 2019.

Mixed martial arts career

Background and amateur career

McCain had been training mixed martial arts during the offseasons for the sake of conditioning but after his NFL career abruptly ended, he needed somewhere to go. He reached out to fellow NFL veteran

Shawne Merriman Shawne DeAndre Merriman (born May 25, 1984), nicknamed "Lights Out", is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins and was sel ...

– who had been trying to lure him to MMA for the previous couple of years – and subsequently signed a contract with Merriman's Lights Out Xtreme Fighting promotion. McCain immediately moved to

and begun training seriously at BodyShop MMA under

Antonio McKee Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

, making his amateur debut on July 6, 2019. As of early 2020, McCain is 3–0 in amateur competition. , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Anthony Taufi , Submission (guillotine choke) , Lights Out Xtreme Fighting 4 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:47 ,

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Matheus Moraes , Decision (unanimous) , Lights Out Xtreme Fighting 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Commerce, California Commerce is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 12,823 at the 2010 census, up from 12,568 at the 2000 census. It is usually referred to as the City of Commerce to distinguish it from the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Jamal Harris , TKO (punches) , Lights Out Xtreme Fighting 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:38 ,

, United States ,

Personal life

McCain has a daughter and a son from his previous relationships.

References

External links

Miami Dolphins bioCalifornia Golden Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCain, Chris 1991 births Living people Players of American football from Greensboro, North Carolina American football linebackers American football defensive ends California Golden Bears football players Miami Dolphins players New Orleans Saints players Dallas Cowboys players San Diego Chargers players Los Angeles Chargers players Indianapolis Colts players Columbus Destroyers players