As soon as Shaquille O’Neal announced his retirement from the NBA in early June, speculation began as to when he would be joining the UFC in some capacity. The four-time NBA champion has long been a fan and practitioner of mixed martial arts, training with Jonathan Burke. Burke, is a BJJ black belt and was the second person to be promoted to that rank by MMA legend Royce Gracie.
Shaq recently appeared on HDNet’s Inside MMA and plainly stated his admiration for those that compete in MMA, saying, “Well, I have to go on record and say that the MMA fighters are the greatest athletes in the world, mentally and physically.” Shaq then went on to recount his first experience with MMA after a chance meeting with Vitor Belfort in Hawaii.
After watching Belfort knock out Jon Hess in 12 seconds, Shaq was hooked on the sport. A few years later he began training with Burke, and, as he says in the HDNet interview, “ironically” he began winning NBA championships after starting that training.
Shaq has been seen at UFC events and counts UFC president Dana White among his friends. With his admiration for the sport of MMA and its athletes, it would make perfect sense for Shaq to join the UFC in some promotional capacity—a fact that is not lost on White. He recently told ESPN’s First Take that, “He’s always been a good friend to us and I’m sure you’re going to see Shaq around the UFC a lot.”
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