He made his international debut for Nigeria on 5 September 2015 against Tanzania in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification game.
After being forced to retire from football after receiving a leukemia diagnosis in 2017, former Wolves and Nigerian goalkeeper Carl Ikeme said that switching to mixed martial arts gave him a purpose to train once more.
Carl Ikeme was born on June 8, 1986, and spent his entire career at Wolverhampton Wanderers, making 207 appearances across all competitions.
He was part of their teams that won the Championship in 2009 and League One in 2014, and he made one Premier League appearance in 2012.
He played for Nigeria's Super Eagles, earning ten caps between 2015 and 2016.
In July 2017, Ikeme was diagnosed with acute leukemia. A year later, after being in complete remission, he retired.
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MMA gave me a purpose to train again – Ikeme
The former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Ikeme, said that he is gradually continuing to enjoy football again and that MMA is giving him the purpose to return to training.
He said, “A part of my recovery was to get back in the gym, I’d lost three stone at one point. I was extremely unhealthy coming out of cancer treatment. I think what the arts and especially Brazilian jiu-jitsu gave me was a purpose to train again.
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“I’ve come to terms with life after football,” he added when asked how he was now after completing his treatment. I’ve started to enjoy football a little bit more. When I first came out, I wasn’t interested in watching it too much, but I’ve been to quite a few Wolves games this season. It’s good.
“I love family life, obviously doing all the arts, working. I’m always trying to strive for balance and never quite get it right, but that’s my new life now, really. I'm just enjoying football as a fan," he told the BBC.
He made his international debut for Nigeria on 5 September 2015 against Tanzania in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification game.