Christian Eckerlin, a 39-year-old MMA fighter and former German footballer, was brought in by Brighton FC last season to coach their players in wrestling, body control and defensive techniques for set-pieces. The club's subsequent improvement has been notable, with Brighton climbing to third in the Premier League after beating title-defending Arsenal 3-0, though Eckerlin modestly suggests his training merely "opened doors" for the players rather than single-handedly driving their success. He identified Danny Welbeck, James Milner and Lewis Dunk as having particular aptitude for the MMA techniques he taught them.

Beyond his work with Brighton, Eckerlin's MMA career has reached a remarkable pinnacle: fighting at Frankfurt's Deutsche Bank Park (also known as the Waldstadion), the home of Eintracht Frankfurt, the club he dreamed of playing for as a child. He defeated Christian Jungwirth there in 2024 in front of nearly 60,000 fans—the most-attended MMA event of the year—and returns to the same stadium on Saturday to face David Kozma at Oktagon 94, with a similar crowd expected. At 39 years old, Eckerlin describes this as likely his final fight, fulfilling a childhood ambition that he believed had ended when he left professional football at age 20 following disagreements with coaches.