Over the years, there has been a lot of crossover between pro wrestling and legitimate combat sports.
Most famously, Brock Lesnar made the leap to MMA in 2007, going on to become the UFC Heavyweight Champion in November 2008 by defeating Randy Couture. After several successful defences, he lost the title to Cain Valasquez in October 2010 and resumed his WWE career in 2012.
A less successful story was that of CM Punk. Punk followed in the footsteps of Lesnar in signing a multi-fight deal with UFC in 2014. However, things were quickly derailed when he lost his first fight by submission in the first round, while his second bout was originally a unanimous decision against Punk, it was later overturned due to his opponent, Mike Jackson, testing positive for marijuana.
The moves have worked the other way too, with Ronda Rousey quickly becoming a top star in WWE after a hugely successful MMA Career. There have also been one-off bouts, with Floyd Mayweather having defeated Paul Wight at WrestleMania 24, while the legendary Muhammed Ali and Antonio Inoki infamously fought to a draw back in 1976.
Now, another star is considering taking to the world of combat sports.
Dana Brooke considering switch to boxing
During an interview with Fightful Select, Dana Brooke revealed that she is considering taking a boxing fight “soon”. The star, who is engaged to MMA fighter Uly Diaz, has previously trained in MMA and also does a lot of jiu-jitsu training which she incorporates into her wrestling moveset. Now, she says that boxing is on her bucket list.
During the same interview, Brooke spoke of her heartbreak at the 24/7 Championship being retired. It was the first and only title she has held so far, and she captured it on 14 occasions. Brooke had high hopes for the championship, saying she had gone as far as pitching for it to become the women’s equivalent of the Intercontinental Championship.