At first glance, Tim Tebow's firm religious beliefs, Christian values and strong moral convictions appear to make him quite the unlikely candidate to be a fan of super-violent MMA combat leagues like the UFC and Strikeforce.
Tebow, who was traded to the New York Jets in March of 2012 after leading the Denver Broncos to the playoffs in the 2011 season, seems far more likely to appear at a charity event than to be spotted cageside at a UFC fight.
Tebow wears religion on his sleeve, and the mission statement on his charity's website is to "bring faith, hope and love to those needing a brighter day." In my view, that is just about as far away as you can get from a sport that focuses on tapping an opponent out by strikes or submissions.
While it remains unclear whether or not he's actually a confirmed fan of ultimate fighting, I was shocked to see that the first tweet he posted in over a week was a shoutout to UFC heavyweight contender Brendan Schaub prior to his fight at UFC 145 on Apr. 21.
Tebow tweeted from his official Twitter handle @timtebow "@BrendanSchaub I'm so proud of you brother...all of your hard work will pay off tonight. #FinishStrong."
After Schaub was defeated by Ben Rothwell in a devastating first-round knockout, the UFC heavyweight contender tweeted "I'm speechless..I'm so sorry to my fans, I have some things I gotta get figured out..I work too hard to feel like this."
Tebow was quick to respond to Schaub's tweet, as he posted on Apr. 22 "@BrendanSchaub life is not about when you get knocked down but about having the perseverance to get back up. Proud of you brother #Heart."
Tebow's Apr. 22 tweet indicates that he at least watched Schaub's fight, which means he probably viewed the rest of the UFC 145 card. At worst, Tebow's tweets to Schaub were viewable by his 1.5 million followers.
Tebow's crossover appeal and apparent friendship with Schaub certainly doesn't hurt to help the sport of MMA grow and propel the UFC to reach new audiences.
We've seen plenty of "unconventional" celebrity UFC fans in the past, as Justin Bieber and Rihanna were spotted ringside at UFC 132. Mandy Moore, Mike Tyson and Kevin James are also notable celebrity UFC fans, so Tebow's fandom of the sport shouldn't be all that surprising.
What are your thoughts on Tim Tebow's tweets to Brendan Schaub? Let me know in the comments.
Eric Holden is a lifelong UFC and New York Jets fan. Follow him on Twitter @ericholden.
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