With Brock Lesnar’s return to the octagon at UFC 200 on the horizon, the worlds of mixed martial arts and professional wrestling once again find themselves intertwined. Lesnar, although maybe the most famous, is not the first wrestler to dabble in the world of MMA. In fact, there have been dozens, ranging Ken Shamrock to Bam Bam Bigelow. We’re going to be looking at the oddballs of the bunch of wrestlers who competed in MMA. These men may not have made an impact in the pro wrestling world, but that didn’t stop them from entering the realm of “real” fighting.
Top 5 Most Obscure Wrestlers Who Competed in MMA
5) Bart Gunn
The real-life Mike Polchlopek enjoyed an 11 year career inside the squared circle. His most notable stint came as a part of the Smoking Guns tag team in the WWE with his partner Billy Gunn. The pair captured the world tag team titles 3 times, but to most wrestling fans, Gunn is known for taking one punch.
It all started in 1998 with WWE’s Brawl for All tournament, where the company’s toughest volunteered to compete. The higher ups were hoping that Dr. Death Steve Williams, another wrestler with MMA experience, would win the tournament in order to launch a feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Those plans came crashing down when Gunn knocked out Williams in the semi-final round.
So, how was Bart rewarded for his troubles? By being taken off TV for close to 7 months, of course. In reality, he was given time off to train for his bout with legitimate boxer Eric “Butterbean” Esch at Wrestlemania XV. Gunn was out of his depth, getting viciously knocked out in just 35 seconds, never to be heard from again.
In 2006, with his wrestling career over, Gunn figured he’d use this experience and try his hand at MMA. He earned a TKO victory less than 2 minutes into his debut fight against Wesely Correria in a cut stoppage. A couple of months later he went the distance with Ikuhisa Minow, but lost by unanimous decision.
4) Rodney Mack
Rodney Begnaud made his debut on the indies in 1998 after being trained by a WWE legend, the Junkyard Dog. He signed with ECW in 2000 and was a part of a stable known as “Da Baldies.” Why did they have that name, you ask? Because they all had bald heads, of course. After the Land of Extreme folded in 2001, Mack was signed by WWE a year later. He debuted alongside Theodore Long as a part of “Thuggin and Buggin Enterprises“, a stable of African Americans who believed they were victims of racism in the workplace. He didn’t do much of note, aside from getting squashed by Goldberg in under 30 seconds. After a concussion and later a knee injury, the former U.S. Marine was released in 2004.
He toiled in the indies for awhile, before being re-signed to WWE in 2006. This time, he worked a couple of house shows for the revived ECW brand before being let go again.
Mack then turned to MMA, fighting for his first and only time on June 7th 2008. On that day, he knocked out Joe Nameth in 21 seconds with a ground and pound. And no, this Joe Nameth did not guarantee victory.
3) Sylvester Terkay
Terkay, competing under his real name, lasted all of six months in WWE. He debuted in 2006 alongside Elijah Burke on the Smackdown brand. There, he rolled through a couple of jobbers…and Matt Hardy, before being drafted to ECW in November. He made his only pay-per-view appearance on the train wreck that was December to Dismember, teaming with Burke to top the F.B.I. The former amateur standout was released 2 months later.
He then moved to Japan, where he enjoyed considerable success with several Japanese promotions. But before then, he decided to give MMA a try. Posting the best record so far on our list at 3-1, Terkay won fights by TKO, submission, and decision. His only loss came in his second bought, where he was TKO’d by Gary Goodridge.
2) Giant Silva
Silva had a very brief run with the WWE in 1998 as part of the Oddities stable, a group of misfit wrestlers that were played to the ring by the Insane Clown Posse. The legit 7 footer made his first and only PPV appearance at SummerSlam 1998, teaming up with Golga and Kurrgan to beat Kai en Tai. He would enjoy much greater success in Japan competing for New Japan Pro Wrestling and Hustle.
For whatever reason, the former pro basketball player believed he had what it took to succeed in MMA. He soon found out he didn’t, posting a 2-6 record. Silva was first round TKO’d 4 times and submitted twice, while earning his 2 wins via the Kimura.
1) Nick Mitchell, aka Mitch
Who would have ever thought that a member of the Spirit Squad would step inside the Octagon? Mitch bursted onto the scene in 2006 as a part of the Spirit Squad, a group of male cheerleaders. The group was involved in the high profile feud between Degeneration-X and the McMahons, usually serving as the comedic lackeys for Vince. Technically, Mitchell was a former tag team champ, as the group captured the belts and defended them under the “freebird rule.” Shortly after their problems with DX ended, members of the group were either released or sent back to developmental. Mitch’s fate was the former.
Immediately after being let go, he quit wrestling all together and began training for a career in MMA under former fighter Rocky Long. He made his debut on April 9th 2010, dropping a 2nd round TKO decision to Derik Lewis. Mitchell was scheduled to fight again on December 11th, 2010, but was forced to pull out due to injury.
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Pro wrestlers have always had a fascination with MMA. Some do it for money, some to prove that they are tough enough. But, for every Brock Lesnar and Ken Shamrock, there is a Giant Silva and Sylvester Terkay.
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