Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
Which wrestlers fought in the UFC, and which fighters fought in WWE? Read on to find out.
For the last couple of decades, there has been a relatively strong relationship between the UFC and WWE. Not a relationship where they work together on promotions or something like that, but with wrestlers making their way to the octagon, and visa versa.
There have been a number of big name fighters that have made their way across to WWE for a stint in wrestling, while a number of WWE stars have gone the other way and plied their trade in the cage. You can bet that some made a serious statement after making the surprise switch.
Brock Lesnar is an extremely familiar name to WWE fans, and probably just as familiar to UFC fans. He is one of the few fighters that have been able to make a massive impact in the squared circle and in the cage.
He was an amateur wrestler who, after working in the developmental territories, made his way to WWE in 2002. His incredible size and strength put him on the radar immediately, and it wasn’t long before he was going toe-to-toe with the biggest names in the business.
He left WWE in 2005 to fight in Japan, and he began his mixed martial arts career with the Hero’s promotion in 2007. After a few fights with Hero’s, he made his way to the UFC, where he made an instant impact, even though his debut match against Frank Mir ended in a loss.
He went on to win the Heavyweight belt, however, he lost the belt to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121, and Brock announced his retirement. He went back to WWE, but returned to the UFC in 2016, only to retire again 2018 after a match with new Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier failed to materialise. He has been with WWE ever since, and only just lost his WWE Championship to Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 36.
Another wrestler who ended up being far more famous for his mixed martial arts career is Dan Severn. He began his career in the UFC in 1994, and was the first wrestler to make the switch from the ring to the cage.
Severn went on to appear in over 100 fights, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and also won multiple UFC Championships over his career. His impact in the WWF was minimal, after only spending a couple of years with the promotion.
He retired from mixed martial arts in 2013, and has continued to work the wrestling independent circuit since 2000. However, he came out of retirement in 2016 and is currently on the books for another MMA promotion, URFight.
Ronda Rousey is another very famous name in both the UFC and WWE. Starting her mixed martial arts career with Strikeforce in 2011, she moved to the UFC in 2012, becoming the first female fighter to sign with the promotion, and also the first Women’s Bantamweight Champion.
Rousey would go on as the Bantamweight champion and pull out defense after defense of her title. However, in her seventh title defense against Holly Holm in 2015 at UFC 193, Holm struck Rousey with a thundering head kick, dropping Rousey to the mat, losing her title.
Rousey retired from mixed martial arts, but would begin to make sporadic appearances in the WWE between 2014 and 2017, and 2017 was also the year she signed with the promotion and began training at one of their centres.
Rousey became the Raw Women’s Champion in 2018, and would defend the title for 231 days, before losing the title. This made her the second longest reigning women’s champion, but she hasn’t returned to the ring in any great capacity since.
Batista and CM Punk are going together because they are also much more famous for their time in WWE, but have also, well, dabbled in the mixed martial arts field. Batista had just the one fight, while Punk has had 2 up till now.
After his retirement from professional wrestling, Batista took up mixed martial arts, and also gained a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. 2012 saw him have his first fight, which ended in a TKO victory for Batista. This would be his first and only MMA fight.
CM Punk signed for the UFC in 2014, after his retirement from the WWE. His first fight took place in late 2016, which ended in a loss. His second fight, also a loss, took place in 2018. He wouldn’t fight for the UFC again after that.
Cain Velasquez is one of, if not the only UFC fighter who had zero pro wrestling experience before making his way to the WWE. He began training in 2018, and started wrestling for Lucha Libre AAA in 2019 after his UFC retirement.
He had one pro wrestling match at the Crown Jewel PPV against Brock Lesnar, which he lost. He was meant to be part of the Royal Rumble earlier this year, but suffered an injury. WWE terminated his contract a little while ago due to budget cuts.
Many wrestlers and fighters have plied their trade in both mixed martial arts and the WWE, with very few making a serious impact in both worlds. However, there are a handful that became stars after making the switch, and professional wrestling and fighting is better off because of it.
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
| Daman Game | 55 club | vn168 | 92lottery | vn168 | 92lottery | Daman Game | 51 Game | Jai club | Jai club | Dost Win | Pinoy365 | Jai Club | Dostwin |
Bang On Casino
