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While it doesn’t tend to hog the headlines these days, wrestlers and MMA have crossed over on numerous occasions. Some WWE superstars come from an MMA background, and others transitioned from wrestling to the octagon despite their limited experience in all things martial arts. Both disciplines aren’t really the same, but we’ve seen a number of familiar faces from the wrestling arena go to war for real in the cage. Likewise, we’ve seen martial artists compete in the WWE.
It’s an understandable jump given the appeal of promotions like the UFC. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is a global attraction, similar in many respects to the WWE, and it brings in audiences from all around the world who adore combat sports. It’s a great promotion when you take a more detailed look at it, and the fights that numerous events showcase highlight just how entertaining it can be. Additionally, for wrestlers, the brutal aspect of options like the UFC clearly appeals to them as they’re natural warriors who enjoy fight-based action given the backgrounds many wrestlers have.
Joining the UFC, plus other promotions, and fighting against respected operators is also another way for wrestlers to expose themselves to new audiences. Fans can follow their training online, debate any potential shocks that could occur, back specific wrestlers with some UFC betting, and essentially be fascinated by the prospect of watching a wrestler they know and love take a brave leap into an entirely new area of entertainment. It’s certainly a commendable move to make, particularly given the skilled martial artists who have been training in numerous disciplines for most of their lives.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some WWE stars who did exactly that and fought in MMA.
Brock Lesnar
By a considerable distance, Lesnar is the most notable WWE star to have tried his hand at MMA. The story is well known by now, as Lesnar conquered the UFC heavyweight division. Lesnar sometimes splits opinion, and there have been better UFC competitors than “The Beast” down the years. But we will always wonder what would have happened if Brock had been fully committed to MMA as a sport. Still, he came, he saw, he conquered for a while, and then booked a trip back to the WWE with his reputation completely enhanced. Nobody ever doubted that Brock was legitimately tough: we all knew that the moment “The Next Big Thing” came on the scene in the early 2000s, but his stint in UFC rubber stamped it.
CM Punk
During his time in the WWE and AEW, CM Punk has been a fairly divisive personality. Despite winning the ECW world title and the WWE world championship, alongside a range of other titles, he also ranted about Vince McMahon’s lack of faith in him and even suggested that the WWE would be in a better state without the wrestling promoter. Unsurprisingly, his comments didn’t go down too well with McMahon and the WWE as a whole, resulting in CM Punk’s first departure in 2014. With a career to resurrect, Punk joined the UFC and committed to a multi-fight contract that excited a lot of fans. Despite being incredibly confident, CM Punk was humbled right at the start of his new new adventure. He tapped out to Mickey Gall in the first round of his debut fight, before losing via a decision to Mike Johnson. Failing to record a single victory, it’s fair to say CM Punk’s foray into the MMA world didn’t exactly go to plan. Still, he deserves credit for taking the challenge on in the first place.
Dave Bautista
While many people know Dave Bautista from numerous smash-hit Marvel movies and titles like My Spy, the former WWE superstar also had a short stint in MMA. Despite only fighting once, when the giant actor took on Vince Lucero in a somewhat forgettable bout that saw the former wrestling superstar win by technical knockout, Bautista’s attempt at making a name for himself in a new category of entertainment went reasonably well. Sure, the fight itself wasn’t one for any MMA purists to be wowed by, but the fans tuned in. Additionally, anyone who decides to try their hand at MMA deserves credit. Bautista did, he won, and nobody can take that away from him.
Jake Hager
While both CM Punk and Dave Bautista didn’t have the best experiences in their new career moves, Jake Hager’s time in the MMA arena was impressive overall. Known as Jack Swagger during his wrestling days, Hager’s time in the WWE eventually came to an end, resulting in him signing up with Bellator in 2017 as he aimed to make a successful adjustment to a highly dangerous sport. The heavyweight competitor didn’t appear to be phased by any of his opponents in the cage, though, with wins against JW Kiser on his debut and TJ Jones a year later highlighting his natural ability in a fight situation. Jake Hager did eventually let himself down, though, following a no contest decision against Anthony Garrett after the former WWE personality threw two unintentional groin strikes. Overall, despite his last fight not going to plan, it’s fair to say that Jake Hager’s exploits in the MMA sphere were fruitful.
Bobby Lashley
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Not every diehard WWE fan will necessarily remember Bobby Lashley’s early days with the promotion, but his journey is a remarkable one. The talented amateur wrestler clearly enjoyed damaging people, but after a strong stint in wrestling which lasted three years, he decided to turn to MMA. Lashley’s skills in the cage were evident from the offset, with his debut at the Mixed Fighting Alliance inaugural event, named There Will Be Blood, seeing him triumph over Joshua Franklin in just 41 seconds thanks to a devastating technical knockout that shocked a lot of people. From that moment onwards, respect for Bobby Lashley grew in the MMA industry, resulting in him appearing in a number of promotions afterward, such as StrikeForce, Bellator, and Shark Fights. In the end, Lashley’s brave attempt at becoming a professional MMA fighter can be considered a success, with his record of 15 wins and two losses highlighting his know-how in the cage.
Special mention must also go to Sean O’Haire, Nathan Jones, Giant Silva, Dan Severn, Alberto Del Rio, Bart Gunn, and Ken Shamrock.
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