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What's the story?
Shinsuke Nakamura was offered a contract by UFC and turned them down in 2005, and he spoke to Hindustan Times about him rejecting the offer and said:
"It was a good opportunity, but I don't regret my choice."
In case you didn't know....
During his rookie years in NJPW, Nakamura was well versed with MMA as well as the Brazilian style of 'Vale Tudo'.
He notched up an impressive 3-1 record in MMA between 2002 to 2004, with one more match ending in a no contest in the 3rd round.
The heart of the matter
"The Artist" opened up about his reasons for staying in pro wrestling and moving to WWE despite a prospective career in the UFC. When he was offered a contract back in 2005, he was under contract with NJPW and decided to stay loyal to them, rather than shift to MMA.
He also talked about his prospective MMA career now, as many people believe the Japanese wrestler stands a good chance of making it in the sport.
“You have to understand that I am a 37-year-old now. It has been a long time since my last proper MMA training and although I still train in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, it will take me at least one year to be ready for a proper fight. That is not something I want to do as I am happy in WWE.”
He went on to say that he enjoyed the talking and the promos in WWE and that was something that he wanted to do, rather than the more hard hitting legitimate UFC style of fighting.
What's next?
For now, Shinsuke is here to stay in the WWE, and despite losing to Jinder Mahal at Summerslam, he won't be down for long.
He is one of the most popular wrestlers in the WWE at the moment and seems to be not done with Mahal yet, and this feud may continue for some time.
Author's take
Shinsuke Nakamura not going to MMA anytime soon is brilliant news for the WWE. With them potentially losing Brock Lesnar after Wrestlemania to UFC, the last thing they needed was for Nakamura to make the jump as well.
Nakamura has the potential to be one of the WWE's top stars, and with the right push and booking, no one can stop him reaching that level. A future match with AJ Styles is something everyone is hoping for.
