Michael Deanailo Westbrook (born July 7, 1972) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Westbrook played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Colorado Buffaloes The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado Boulder. The university sponsors 16 varsity sports teams. Both the men's and women's teams are called the Buffaloes (Buffs for short) or, rarely, the Golden ...

, and was recognized as a consensus

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

in 1994. He was selected in the first round of the

1995 NFL draft The 1995 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount ...

, and played professionally for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

and

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

of the NFL. After retiring from football, he later competed as a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

fighter in the

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

division.

Early life

Westbrook was born in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. He attended Chadsey High School in Detroit, and played for the Chadsey Explorers

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

team.

College football

Westbrook attended the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he played for the

Colorado Buffaloes football The Colorado Buffaloes football program represents the University of Colorado Boulder in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level, and is a member of the Big 12 Conference. The team was a charter member of the Big 12 before leaving to jo ...

team from 1991 to 1994. As a senior in 1994, he was the receiver in the play known as " The Miracle at Michigan," a

Hail Mary pass A Hail Mary pass is a very long forward pass in American football, typically made in desperation, with a very small chance of achieving a completion (American football), completion. Due to the difficulty of a completion with this pass, it makes r ...

from Buffaloes quarterback Kordell Stewart to beat the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

in the final seconds of the game. At the conclusion of the season, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, and was the recipient of the Paul Warfield Trophy as the best college wide receiver in the nation.

Professional football

The

selected Westbrook in the first round (fourth overall pick) of the

. He played for seven seasons in Washington, before playing the 2002 season with the

. In August 1997, the Redskins fined Westbrook $50,000 for punching a teammate, running back Stephen Davis, an incident caught by TV news cameras. While injuries hampered Westbrook for much of his NFL career, he played all 16 games in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

en route to achieving career highs in receptions (65), yards (1,191), and touchdowns (nine). Westbrook finished his career with 285 receptions for 4,374 yards and 26 touchdowns. He also rushed 22 times for 160 yards and one touchdown.

NFL statistics

Martial arts

Westbrook practiced

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

during his football playing career, and entered Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after retirement from the NFL in 2002. He has won national and Pan-American events as a brown belt. In 2008, he won the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation ("IBJJF") World Championship at purple belt. Westbrook said of jiu-jitsu, "This is a lot easier and a lot more fun han football I don't have to worry about coaches and it's not nearly as dangerous. I don't have to worry about pleasing the public and the announcers. Or getting eggs thrown at my door because I dropped a ball. I don't have to worry about any of that." Having previously trained with the MASH FIGHT TEAM in Michigan with Former "King Of The Cage" Light Heavyweight Champion James Lee, Westbook now trains at Arizona Combat Sports in Tempe,

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. As a

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

, Westbrook competes in the heavyweight (206-265 lbs.) division. He fought once in 2005 and defeated fellow NFL veteran Jarrod Bunch in the

main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

of a

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock Jr. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstre ...

event in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. After the Bunch fight, Westbrook was inactive for four years; and his return to professional MMA was less successful than his debut. In February, 2009, Travis Browne defeated Westbrook in

San Bernardino San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, by

technical knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

in the third round. In July 2009, Westbrook squared off against Nick Gaston in the main event of a King of the Cage card in Lac du Flambeau,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. One minute into the fight, Gaston struck Westbrook in the groin with a knee strike, and Westbrook could not continue. The fight was ruled a no contest. Westbrook also fought on season two, episode ten, of MTV's ''

Bully Beatdown ''Bully Beatdown'' is an American reality television series created by Mark Burnett (executive producer), Mark Burnett that aired on MTV. In each episode, show host Jason Miller (fighter), Jason "Mayhem" Miller challenged bullies to fight agains ...

''. On that episode, it was stated that Westbrook owns a black belt in

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

and has reached brown-belt status in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Gustavo Dantas. Westbrook was promoted to a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2010.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , NC , align=center, 1–2 , Nick Gaston , No contest , KOTC: Connection , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:04 , Lac de Flambeau, Wisconsin, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 , Travis Browne , TKO (punches) , KOTC: Immortal , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:22 ,

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Jarrod Bunch , Submission (rear-naked choke) , KOTC 48: Payback , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:55 ,

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, United States ,

References

External links

Sherdog - Professional MMA record
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westbrook, Michael 1972 births Living people All-American college football players American football wide receivers American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male taekwondo practitioners American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Cincinnati Bengals players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Colorado Buffaloes football players Players of American football from Detroit Chadsey High School alumni Washington Redskins players 20th-century American sportsmen