Donald Brashear’s next career move: MMA fighter

Speak to Donald Brashear about hockey fighting, and you'll hear answers that eloquently describe everything from technique to its honor code.

In his NHL career with teams like the Vancouver Canucks, Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers, Brashear wasn't just a goon who amassed 2,634 penalty minutes; he was a brawler who approached his given role as a science.

So his next career move, at 39, shouldn't come as a surprise: Reports are that Donald Brashear is getting into the mixed martial arts business.

From MMADieHards.com:

Former NHL tough guy Donald Brashear is taking his game to MMA after officially signing with the Canadian-based Ringside promotion, MMADieHards.com has learned.

At this time, it remains to be seen whether or not the commission (R�gie des alcools, des courses et des jeux) will give Brashear his license, and as of Thursday, he had not yet applied for it.� If Brashear applies and is licensed in time, he could fight as soon as Ringside 11 in Quebec City on June 4.

According to Ringside Report on Wednesday, talks between Brashear and Ringside were ongoing:

After a lengthy meeting with Brashear in Quebec, Ringside MMA President Eric Champoux, is confident that Brashear will join the organization and is hoping to captilize on Brashear's stardom to generate more fans. Brashear is enthusiastic about the opportunity to become a mixed martial arts fighter and could start train at Nordik Fight Club in Quebec. He (Champoux) hopes that the crossover from NHL Goon to MMA fighter will appeal to Quebec fans, similar to WWE wrestler Brock Lesnar and Boxing Champion James Toney joining the UFC and of course former LNAH hockey goon turned Quebec MMA star Steve Bosse.

So … publicity stunt? There's obviously an element of that, but Cagewriter's Maggie Hendricks tells us that Quebec's licensing�commission is historically tough and wouldn't license him if this was done on a whim. But his age is also a consideration.

Another wrinkle, from Ringside: "On March 25th, 2011, while playing for Rivieres-du-Loup, Brashear was involved in a serious brawl in Trois Rivieres where he continued to punch a defenseless downed player on the ice and was suspended for five games. After the altercation on the ice he attacked a fan in the parking lot and he was charged with assault."

We've already seen Georges Laraque wrestle Georges St-Pierre; when do we get the inevitable Laraque/Brashear superbrawl?

Stick-tap Tom Gulitti for the news.

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