Have you noticed that in the last 5 to 10 years, there have been quite a few people who were marquee names in their sport, trying to move into another sport?
Athletes like former professional wrestlers Brock Lesnar, Bobby Lashley, and Dave Bautista jumped to Mixed Martial Arts; while Mixed Martial Artist Ken Shamrock went to pro wrestling at one point.
Two recent popular transitions came from, boxing great, James Toney as he jumped into mixed martial arts, and track and field’s “World’s Fastest Man” Usain Bolt’s mention of trying out soccer in Europe.
There are some people out there who may or may not think it’s great that athletes are trying their talents out in other sports, but for me it all depends on the mindset he or she has.
The competitors just need to take things seriously or else they may become a joke.
Some circumstances that may affect performance, aside from their athleticism, are the level of respect they have for the sport and the people who came before them.
There are two types of athletes. The first has utmost respect for the sport they are trying to get in, and has always been a fan of it.
It would be so great to see these athletes want to be a part of it and showcase what the can offer to the sport.
Current UFC Champion Brock Lesnar is one of these people. He has been a folkstyle wrestler since he was a kid.
He was so dedicated, and hard working that in high school, he had an impressive record of 33-0.
In his college career, he was an All-American and NCAA Heavyweight Champion at Bismark State, and a three-time NCAA Champion at University of Minnesota.
After graduation, he performed professional wrestling and joined the World Wrestling Entertainment organization in late 2001. Seeing that he was a hard worker, WWE pushed him to become one of the top males in the industry.
Being great at two sports, doing very well in both industries, and could have made big bucks doing it, he chose to try something more legitimate, so he went into mixed martial arts in 2007.
He understood and respected the toughness and hard work MMA demands from his time in college wrestling, which shares traits with mixed martial arts.
That’s why he took it seriously, to become the best. That’s why he is a current UFC champion, and the No.1-ranked heavyweight fighter in the world.
Another great example of athletes wanting to try other sports is track star Usain Bolt; a man who is known for his great showcase at the 2008 Olympics.
He won three gold medals, boosting his world championship medal total to 13.
His work and his accomplishments at the young age of 24, gives him the right to be cocky.
When it comes to him expressing his interests in playing soccer after the 2012 Olympics, he was far from acting cocky.
He was actually humble about it, expressing that he is a very big fan of soccer and enjoyed playing in high school. He wanted to play for the English Premier Leagues’ Manchester United.
The second type of athletes to cross over seems to be the ultra-cocky type of athlete.
Just because they are great in their own sport, and may have a certain aspects that will help them in the new sport, they try to act as if they are the greatest before putting in the work.
These athletes would not be good for the sport because they lack respect.
This year, 42-year-old boxing legend, and the newest UFC heavyweight, James Toney walked into MMA without such respect.
He has a great boxing career, having 33 amateur and 83 pro fights. He won all but eight of them.
He has also beaten boxing greats like multi-time world champion Evander Holyfield in 2003, and Roy Jones Jr. in 1994.
He has also won a few championships himself. For example: he is a former International Boxing Federation Middleweight, Super Middleweight, Cruiserweight, and two-time International Boxing Association Heavyweight Champion. And that shows you that he is a beast in any weight class.
So, looking at his boxing record, and some of the fighters he’s fought, it proves that he is no joke in the boxing world.
Toney was so eager to fight in the UFC that he tried to go to every show, and everywhere UFC President Dana White went, to bother him into giving him a contract.
It wasn’t until January 2010, that they would work out a deal for the fight Toney wanted.
Before he got the deal with UFC, Toney was talking bad about MMA. He said it was way easier than boxing, and it didn’t hurt as much.
He was even talking negative about his future opponent, MMA legend Randy Couture.
He only had 8 months of training up to the fight but said he didn’t need any more time than that.
He still ended up losing by submission even before he had a chance to answer back with moves of his own.
A rookie in a sport should never talk down the legends of that sport, even though he or she will compete against them.
So, if you are trying to get into a sport, you should at least respect the sport and the athletes in it because, without them, you might not have had the opportunity to do so.
