5 UFC fighters who have appeared at WrestleMania

Former UFC fighters went 1-3 at WrestleMania 38
Former UFC fighters went 1-3 at WrestleMania 38

An increasing number of former UFC fighters seem to be taking part in WWE's flagship event, WrestleMania, each year. The most recent edition, which took place last weekend, saw four former UFC fighters take part. Even MMA's biggest star, Conor McGregor, was keeping a keen eye on the event.

Pro-wrestling is an interesting career option for professional mixed martial artists who sadly often have limited options at the conclusion of their careers. There is clearly a significant crossover between the two worlds and fighters are able to take relatively little damage compared to life as a cage-fighter.

We have seen a number of fighters go on to achieve huge success in the WWE after leaving the octagon behind. Because of this, it would not be surprising if we continued to see fighters trying their hand at pro-wrestling in the future.

It remains to be seen which fighters are next to make the jump over to the WWE. Here are five UFC fighters who have appeared at WrestleMania:


#5. Matthew Riddle - former UFC welterweight

Riddle holds a 1-1 record at WrestleMania
Riddle holds a 1-1 record at WrestleMania

Matthew Riddle picked up the first WrestleMania win of his WWE career last week when he successfully defended the Raw Tag Team titles alongside Randy Orton. The pair defeated both the Street Profits and Alpha Academy in what was Riddle's second career bout at the grandest stage of them all.

It seems a long time ago now that Riddle was plying his trade inside the octagon. He competed in the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter and recorded seven victories in the organization before retiring. Were it not for Riddle testing positive for cannabis, he would've ended his UFC career on a four-fight win streak.

His transition to the pro-wrestling world has been a very successful one, as his current title run would suggest. His only other WrestleMania appearance, however, was less successful when he lost the United States Championship to Sheamus at WrestleMania 37.

#4. Ken Shamrock - former UFC fighter

Ken Shamrock has a 0-2 record at WrestleMania
Ken Shamrock has a 0-2 record at WrestleMania

Ken Shamrock may not have competed in either the UFC or the WWE for some time, but he was one of the first fighters to have success in both fields. Shamrock last fought in the octagon in 2006 and his most recent WrestleMania appearance was all the way back in 1999.

Shamrock's first octagon bout came at UFC 1 and in total he had 15 fights with the promotion. He would have mixed results with the promotion, going 7-6-2, with three of those losses coming at the hands of Tito Ortiz. His overall MMA record was much more impressive and concluded at 28-17-2.

Shamrock got to compete in some big-time spots at WrestleMania, most notably taking on Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in singles competition. Ultimately, however, he would be unsuccessful in both of his WrestleMania outings, failing in his efforts to win the Intercontinental Championship on each occasion.


#3. Shayna Baszler - former UFC bantamweight

Shayna Baszler has a 1-2 record at WrestleMania
Shayna Baszler has a 1-2 record at WrestleMania

Former UFC fighter Shayna Baszler was unsuccessful in her efforts at WrestleMania 37. Baszler and her teammate Natalya lost a fatal 4 way bout for the Women's Tag Team Championships. This was the third time she had competed at a WrestleMania event.

Before her run with WWE, Baszler was a pioneer in women's MMA. She competed in various organizations around the world before making her octagon debut in 2014. While she didn't pick up a win in the organization, her career record of 15-11 is more indicative of how talented a fighter she was.

Since joining WWE, Baszler has competed at WrestleMania three times. Her debut saw her lose to Becky Lynch for the Raw Women's Championship. She was then successful at WrestleMania 36, winning the tag team title alongside Nia Jax before losing in a bout for the same title this time around.

#2. Ronda Rousey - former UFC bantamweight

Ronda Rousey has a 1-2 record at WrestleMania
Ronda Rousey has a 1-2 record at WrestleMania

Ronda Rousey's popularity led to the UFC introducing female fighters to their ranks. She has remained a huge draw during her run in the WWE, although she was unsuccessful this past WrestleMania, suffering a defeat to Charlotte Flair.

Rousey's octagon debut came back in 2013, when she defended her bantamweight title for the first time. She racked up five more successful title defenses before suffering the only two defeats of her MMA career which led to her retirement.

Rousey made her debut at WrestleMania, successfully competing alongside Kurt Angle against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. It has proved to be the only WrestleMania win thus far as her other appearance saw her lose a triple threat bout with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair.


#1. Brock Lesnar - former UFC heavyweight

Brock Lesnar has a 5-6 record at WrestleMania
Brock Lesnar has a 5-6 record at WrestleMania

Brock Lesnar was also unsuccessful this past weekend as he attempted to defeat Roman Reigns. With that being said, Lesnar has been enormously successful during his multiple spells in the WWE and has had several WrestleMania moments.

After his first run in WWE, Lesnar eventually made his octagon debut in 2008. He would win the heavyweight championship in just his third bout in the promotion and impressively defended the belt on two separate occasions. Overall, his MMA record got to 5-3 (1 NC) before he stepped away from the sport for good.

Lesnar's WrestleMania debut came against Kurt Angle when he won the WWE championship in the main event. His most notorious win at the event came in 2014 when he defeated the Undertaker, ending his opponent's famous WrestleMania winning streak.

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Edited by wkhuff20