Comparisons are often drawn between different styles of fighting, yet one thing that eludes the world is whether professional wrestlers have the skills and the acumen to don the gloves and fight inside the cage!
While some of them successfully did both (the likes of Brock Lesnar and Ken Shamrock), most of them haven’t found much success in the realm of the UFC, primarily because they’re more attuned to the sports-entertainment confines of the World Wrestling Entertainment.
However, being the dreamers that we all are, we chalked down 5 matches between WWE legends and UFC fighters and drew comparisons between the two different forms. Pound for pound, blood for blood, WWE legends in their days of yore might have given tough competition to the present-day UFC roster!
Here are 5 dream matches between the WWE superstars of the bygone eras and Ultimate Fighting Championship stalwarts:
#5 Bret Hart v/s Conor McGregor
If there’s one man who can step up to Conor McGregor, it is none other than Bret The Hitman Hart. A dream match like none else, where technicality and speed are of paramount significance; the brute force and speed of Conor McGregor pitted against the technical prowess of the progenitor of in-ring technicality.
I’m sure McGregor’s ways of ‘getting into the opponent’s head’ would have done little to dissuade The Hitman from squaring-off in the ring, had they both existed in the same era. With a strong background in amateur wrestling, Bret wouldn’t have found it hard to engage in a tussle on the ground.
Bret’s repertoire would have had enough arsenal to face up to The Notorious Irishman, save a “screwjob”! Conor on the other hand would have found his match in the torchbearer of the World Wrestling Federation (albeit without Twitter name-calling)!
#4 Rowdy Roddy Piper v/s Georges St-Pierre
I say Rowdy Roddy Piper would have met his ideal match in Georges St-Pierre not only because of their Canadian roots but also because they both had to go through a tumultuous childhood.
Piper was expelled from school and had a fallout with him father while on the other hand Pierre was a victim of bullying. Both later trained in boxing and martial arts. Piper earned a black belt in judo while Georges St-Pierre worked his way through to a karate black belt.
A bout between the two would have resulted in a closely-contested competition leveraged by the fact that both competitors are considered legends in their area of expertise. Both Piper and St-Pierre are known to be fierce competitors, having a background in both wrestling and martial arts.
#3 Vader v/s Cain Velasquez
Imagine an era dominated by these heavyweights; Velasquez and Vader. One known for his high flying moves, notable of which is the ‘Vadersault’, the other known for his hard-hitting and groundwork dominance.
Big Van Vader’s repertoire included the German Suplex, the Vadersault, the spinning backfist, moves that are employed even in mixed martial arts. Velasquez, on the other hand, despite his bulk is extremely swift throwing combination punches.
He is equally good with take-downs and maintaining a dominant position while still throwing a barrage of strikes that weaken the opponent. A match between these two bigshots would have been a treat to watch, had both existed in the same era. For now, we can just speculate the outcome of the match between Big Van and his UFC heavyweight counterpart.
#2 Haku v/s Derrick Lewis
Wow, one tough ‘sonfagun’ pitted against the other, makes for quite a match that we would someday, considering both these competitors are active fighters/performers. Haku, notorious for being one of the toughest people to have been a part of the WWE/WCW roster.
According to an interview, Bill Goldberg said “Meng aka Haku would have made a huge splash in the MMA world. I don’t know of a human being alive that could take Meng out in his prime.” On the opposite end of the spectrum stands Derrick Lewis, known for his ‘swangin’ and bangin’’ style of onslaught.
Lewis nicknamed ‘The Black Beast’, boxed under the tutelage of none other than George Foreman, which explains why he loves to ‘swang & bang’ and has an impressive 15 wins by knockout record to his name.
I can’t even fathom what would transpire when these two heavyweight toughies decide to take it to the octagon or even the squared circle. But one thing is for sure, Lewis should be wary of the danger he’s getting into, by squaring off against Haku. Haku is known for gouging peoples’ eyeballs out and breaking handcuffs!
#1 Chris Benoit v/s Nate Diaz
Chris Benoit shall always be a WWE legend, period. Even though Vince McMahon and his WWE have distanced themselves from Benoit after the double-murder suicide case, his in-ring achievements stand testimony to his legendary status. Had he been alive, a match between him and technical genius Nate Diaz would have been a dream come true.
Benoit was revered for his technical in-ring proficiency that was seen in the form of his close-combat style of wrestling that included a lot of groundwork and jiu-jitsu. Nate Diaz, a pupil of Cesar Gracie, would have been his perfect match, had these two ever decided to settle their differences.
Diaz with his BJJ-boxing combination is a fierce competitor inside the octagon, replete with submission holds, something we saw in his first bout against Conor McGregor. An exhibition match between these two would have ideally sold-out crowds and been one hell of a crossover combat fixture (definitely a thousand times better than what Shaq and The Big Show are going to put up!)
Technical ability, wits, speed and groundwork would have been the four variables which would have decided the outcome of Benoit v/s Nate!
What are your dream matches? Leave us a comment below and maybe we’ll cover it in the sophomore article.
