From professional wrestlers to MMA fighters: 12 wrestlers who made the jump to mixed martial arts
- Before mixed martial arts (MMA) grew into what it is today, former professional wrestler Antonio Inoki paved the way for the sport when he fought world champion boxer Muhammad Ali in 1976.
- MMA as an organized sport began in 1980 with the "Battle of the Tough Guys" in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- Dan Severn was the first world-class wrestler to enter the UFC in 1994 and foreshadowed the success a number of former professional wrestlers have had in MMA.
- Along with Severn, household wrestling names like Ken Shamrock, Brock Lesnar, and Alberto Del Rio also grew in the MMA.
Before mixed martial arts (MMA) grew into what it is today, former professional wrestler Antonio Inoki paved the way for the sport when he fought world champion boxer Muhammad Ali in 1976. While its history dates back to the early Olympics in Greece, MMA as an organized sport began in 1980 with the "Battle of the Tough Guys" in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Since then, the sport has grown exponentially in popularity because of the UFC, which began in 1993.
As a result, professional wrestlers have parlayed their success into MMA. Some experienced even more success in MMA, while others did not perform as well.
Below we take you through the most successful professional wrestlers who tried their hand in MMA.
Antonio Inoki
Years in professional wrestling: 1960–1998
Years in MMA: N/A
MMA record: N/A
Antonio Inoki began professional wrestling in the Japanese Wrestling Association (JWA) under the wing of Korean Japanese professional wrestler Rikidōzan.
Inoki rose to popularity and became one of Japan's most recognizable athletes. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2010.
Although he never formally participated in MMA fighting, his 1976 fight against world champion boxer Muhammad Ali served as a predecessor to the sport. After the fight, two of Inoki's students, Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki, founded Pancrase – an MMA promotion in Japan, which inspired others to start their own.
Inoki began promoting in 1972 and continues to do so today. He founded New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 1972, which was bought by Japanese video game company Yuke in 2005, and retired from professional wrestling in 1998.
He also served as a member of the House of Councillors in Japan and retired from politics in 2019.
Phillip Jack Brooks
Years in professional wrestling: 1999–2014
Years in MMA: 2014–present
MMA record: 0-2-0
Phillip Jack Brooks is better known for his ring name CM Punk. He began wrestling in 1999 and primarily wrestled with Ring of Honor from 2002-05.
In 2005, Brooks signed with WWE and spent nearly a decade with the company, during which he won two WWE Championships, three WWE World Heavyweight Championships.
He retired from professional wrestling in 2014 and signed with the UFC in December of that year. His first fight was in September 2016 against Mickey Gall, where he was defeated in the first round via submission. He lost his second bout to Mike Jackson in a unanimous decision in June 2018.
UFC President Dana White said that Brooks should "call it a wrap" after losing his second fight. Brooks is signed to the UFC as a welterweight competitor, as well as Cage Fury Fighting Championships, where he is a commentator.
Dave Bautista
Years in professional wrestling: 1999–2010; 2013–2014; 2018–2019
Years in MMA: 2012
MMA record: 1-0-0
Dave Bautista began wrestling in 1999 and signed with the WWF (now WWE) in 2000. He rose to fame under his ring name Batista. He won four World Heavyweight Championships and two WWE Championships.
He is the record-holder for the longest reign as World Heavyweight Champion at 282 days.
Batista headlined WrestleMania 21 in 2005. He stepped away from the company in 2010. In 2012, Bautista signed a contract with Classic Entertainment & Sports to fight in MMA. In his lone MMA fight in October 2012, he defeated Vince Lucero via TKO in the first round.
Bautista's stint in MMA quickly ended and he returned to the WWE in 2013. After leaving the organization for a second time, he returned again in 2018 and retired from wrestling in April 2019.
Dan Severn
Years in professional wrestling: 1991–present
Years in MMA: 1994–2013; 2016–present
MMA record: 101-19-7
Dan Severn was the first world-class wrestler to enter the UFC and foreshadowed the success to come for wrestlers in the sport. He began professional wrestling in 1992 for Universal Wrestling Federation International and made his first WWF appearance five years later in 1997.
Severn is a two-time National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Heavyweight Champion and a member of the NWA Hall of Fame.
In 1994, he started competing in the UFC. He became the first man to compete and hold championships in both UFC and WWF.
Severn is also a member of the UFC Hall of Fame and is considered to be one of the leading pioneers for MMA. He is the only UFC Triple Crown champion.
He retired from the UFC in 2013, but returned to competition in 2016. He retired from professional wrestling in 2014.
Ken Shamrock
Years in professional wrestling: 1989–1993; 1997–2004, 2009, 2018–present
Years in MMA: 1993–1996; 2000–2010; 2015–2016
MMA record: 28-17-2
Ken Shamrock began training as a professional wrestler in 1988. In 1997, he joined the WWF. He is an Intercontinental Champion, World Tag Team Champion, and the 1998 King of the Ring. He is also a NWA World Heavyweight Champion.
Shamrock is credited with popularizing the ankle lock hold.
His mixed martial arts career began in 1992 in Fujiwara Gumi, a Japanese pro wrestling organization. He is regarded as an icon and pioneer of the sport, and one of the biggest stars in the history of the MMA.
Shamrock is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame and has headlined over 15 main events. He was also won the title of King of Pancrase to become the first foreign MMA Champion in Japan in 1994.
He announced his retirement from fighting in July 2019, but continues to wrestle professionally for Battle Championship Wrestling in Melbourne, Australia.
Brock Lesnar
Years in professional wrestling: 2000–2007, 2012–present
Years in MMA: 2007–2011, 2016
MMA record: 5–3–0 (One no contest)
Brock Lesnar signed with the WWE in 2000 and debuted in 2002. He won the WWE Championship five months later, becoming the youngest champion in WWE history at 25.
He decided to leave the company in 2004 and pursue a career in the NFL, but was cut prior to the start of the Minnesota Vikings season. He returned to professional wrestling in 2005 and decided to pursue a career in MMA in 2006, signing with the UFC in 2008.
Lesnar became the UFC Heavyweight Champion in November 2008. On December 31, 2011, he announced he was retiring from MMA due to struggles with diverticulitis and returned to the WWE in 2012.
Lesnar returned to the UFC in 2016, but was suspended after violating the UFC's anti-doping policy by testing positive for clomiphene that year. He retired from MMA for a second time in 2017.
He is regarded as one of the most accomplished professional wrestlers of all-time.
Alberto Del Rio
Years in professional wrestling: 2000–present
Years in MMA: 2001–2010; 2019
MMA record: 9-5-0
José Alberto Rodríguez, best known as Alberto Del Rio or Alberto El Patrón, made his professional wrestling debut in 2000 as Dos Caras Jr. A year later, he decided to try MMA.
He stepped away from fighting in 2010 and became the President of MMA promotion Combate Americas in 2016. He stepped down in 2017 to concentrate on his wrestling career.
Rodríguez signed with WWE in 2009 and made his debut the follow year as Alberto Del Rio. He became the first Mexico-born world champion in WWE history when he won the WWE Championship in 2011. He is a two-time WWE Champion and two-time World Heavyweight Champion.
He is also the only professional wrestler to win the 2011 Royal Rumble and the 2011 Money in the Bank ladder match in the same calendar year.
Rodríguez left the WWE in 2014 and wrestled in other promotions as Alberto El Patrón. He had one more stint in the WWE from 2015-16 before taking bookings on the independent circuit.
In July 2019, it was announced that Rodríguez would return to MMA competition for the first time since 2010 to take on UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz.
Bobby Lashley
Years in professional wrestling: 2005–present
Years in MMA: 2008–present
MMA record: 15-2-0
Bobby Lashley signed a developmental contract with WWE in November 2004 and made his television debut a year later in September 2005.
Lashley is a two-time Extreme Championship Wrestling World Champion. He was released from his WWE contract in 2008 and continued to wrestle with other promotions.
He also made his MMA debut in 2008 and has fought with various promotions since, most recently with Bellator MMA and remains under contract.
Lashley returned to WWE in 2018 and became a two-time Intercontinental Champion.
Shinsuke Nakamura
Years in professional wrestling: 2002–present
Years in MMA: 2002–2004
MMA record: 3-1-0 (One no contest)
Shinsuke Nakamura is a three-time International Wrestling Grand Prix (IWGP) Heavyweight Champion. He joined NJPW in 2002 and became known as the "Super Rookie" because of his speed, strength, and skill. He made his professional wrestling debut on August 29, 2002, against Tadao Yasuda.
His first MMA fight was on December 31, 2002, when he lost to Brazil native Daniel Gracie. He fought for more times before his last MMA fight in May 2004 against Alexey Ignashov.
Nakamura is also a record five-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion. He left NJPW in 2016 and signed with the WWE, where he became WWE Intercontinental Champion in 2019. He is the second wrestler, after Chris Jericho, to hold WWE and JWGP Intercontinental titles.
Currently, Nakamura performs on the SmackDown brand for WWE.
Kazushi Sakuraba
Years in professional wrestling: 1993–1996; 1997–1998; 2012–2016
Years in MMA: 1993–present
MMA record: 26-17-1 (Two no contests)
Kazushi Sakuraba made his professional wrestling debut in 1993 with Union of Wrestling Forces International, which is where he began to develop his catch wrestling skills. Catch wrestling led him to success in MMA.
His first MMA bout came in 1996 and he has fought in the UFC, Pride Fighting Championships, Hero's and Dream.
Sakuraba defeated four members of the Gracie Family and became known as the "Gracie Hunter" or "Gracie Killer." His fight against Royce Gracie lasted 90 minutes and ended when Gracie was unable to continue.
Sakuraba also has victories over seven UFC champions, three Pancrase Champions, and many others. He is the first of only two Japanese champions in UFC history and is considered one of the best Japanese MMA fighters of all-time.
Sakuraba is currently signed to Rizin Fighting Federation. He is also the founder of Quintet, a submission wrestling promotion, where he competed in the inaugural event in 2018.
Masakatsu Funaki
Years in professional wrestling: 1985–1993, 2009–present
Years in MMA: 1993–2000, 2007–2008; 2012
MMA record: 40-13-2
Masakatsu Funaki applied to New Japan Pro Wrestling instead of entering high school in 1985. He made his debut at 15 years old as a junior heavyweight.
Funaki also wrestled for Pro Wrestling Fujiwara and Newborn UWF. He left the promotion in 1993 to form MMA promotion Pancrase with Minoru Suzuki.
He became Pancrase's biggest star and a Japanese icon, defeating MMA champions such as Ken Shamrock, Guy Mezger, and numerous others, by submission.
After retiring from the sport in late 2000, he came out of retirement in 2007 and again in 2012. Funaki continues to wrestle periodically both as a freelancer and part of All Japan Pro Wrestling.
Kazuyuki Fujita
Years in professional wrestling: 1996–2005, 2011–present
Years in MMA: 2000–2009, 2013, 2016-present
MMA record: 18-14-0
Kazuyuki Fujita began his career in professional wrestling in 1993 when he joined New Japan Pro Wrestling. He didn't debut until three years later in 1996 against Yuji Nagata. He took a hiatus in 2000 to begin training in MMA and joined Pride Fighting Championships.
Fujita won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship upon returning to NJPW in April 2001 and went on to win the title two more times. He left the company in 2005 and continued to fight in MMA.
On December 31, 2009, Fujita faced Alistair Overeem and was knocked unconscious for the first time. He stepped away from the sport and returned to professional wrestling in 2011 for Inoki Genome Federation (IGF).
Fujita returned to the MMA in 2013, where he lost his fourth consecutive bout, and returned again in 2016.
After losing eight consecutive fights, he won three fights in 2018 and continues to wrestle as a freelancer and for IGF.