Who doesn’t love a good ol’ sports spectacle?
Think about it: whether it’s an Olympic sprinter racing a horse in a 100m dash, or a basketball legend playing minor league baseball (sorry Michael Jordan), fans flock to this kind of stuff.
When mixed martial arts burst onto the scene in 1993, it was viewed more as a spectacle than a legitimate sport and it captured people’s attention.
Today, MMA is legitimate athletic endeavor that features some of the best athletes in the world.
But the sport could be home to a spectacle again, and an intriguing one at that.
Former NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal took to Twitter late last year to challenge former MLB all-star slugger Jose Canseco to an MMA bout, and in a recent interview said he is ready for the fight.
Check out the ufc live on fox 9pm eastern and 6pm western I’m going with Cain baby. What up Dana white I wanna fight Jose conseco hook it up
Despite their success in their respective sports — Shaq is a four-time NBA champion, while Canseco hit 462 home runs in the MLB — both men have a history in combat sports.
O’Neal is a big UFC fan and regularly trains MMA in order to stay in shape. He has stated in the past his desire to one day compete in the sport.
And at 7’1 and approximately 350 pounds, Shaq’s sheer size and power, along with a natural athletic ability, could potentially make the 38-year-old a dangerous opponent.
Meanwhile, Canseco is a taekwondo black belt and has trained with Cesar Gracie’s team in California alongside fighters like Nick and Nate Diaz, Jake Shields and Gilbert Melendez.
Canseco has also taken to Twitter to accept the big man’s challenge.
I am going to fight shaq
— Jose Canseco (@JoseCanseco) March 14, 2012
His history in combat sports exhibitions is something left to be desired though.
The 47-year-old has competed in several celebrity boxing matches including fights against former NFL running back Vai Sikahema and Danny Bonaduce. Yes, that Danny Bonaduce.
Canseco even competed in a professional MMA match in 2009. He took on 7’2, 305-pound kickboxer Hong Man Choi in the Dream Super Hulk Grand Prix quarterfinal. Needless to say, it didn’t go well.
As intriguing as a bout between these two popular (and in Canseco’s case, unpopular) athletes, the likelihood it would take place in the UFC is virtually non-existent.
In recent years, the UFC has signed a couple of famous athletes with little or no experience in MMA — Brock Lesnar and James Toney. However, both men had the credentials to warrant a UFC audition. Lesnar was a former NCAA Division 1 national champion collegiate wrestler, while Toney was a reigning North American Boxing Organization heavyweight champion and a former IBF and IBA champ when he agreed to fight Randy Couture at UFC 118 in 2010.
Since Shaq and Canseco don’t have credentials like Lesnar or Toney, a bout like this would never take place inside the UFC Octagon.
Nevertheless, it’s fun to think about, and if Canseco and Shaq one day met in an MMA bout, it would certainly be something to behold, for good and bad reasons, and garner lots of attention in the sports world.
POLL:
If Shaq and Jose Canseco fought in an MMA bout, who would win?
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