Tag: The Rock

Paige VanZant Expresses Potential Interest In Working With WWE In The Future

Rising UFC star and recent Dancing With The Stars contestant Paige VanZant was interviewed by Maxim.com ahead of her main event fight on FOX against former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion “The Karate Hottie” Michelle Waterson this past Saturday night an…

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Rising UFC star and recent Dancing With The Stars contestant Paige VanZant was interviewed by Maxim.com ahead of her main event fight on FOX against former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion “The Karate Hottie” Michelle Waterson this past Saturday night and seemed to indicate potential interest in doing some kind of business with WWE at some point in the future.

“The WWE is an amazing organization,” VanZant told Maxim prior to the UFC On FOX 22 show, which saw the Team Alpha Male member lose via submission to Waterson in the headline bout at the show at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. “I’m a UFC fighter right now, but my future has no limits. Can’t wait to see what I accomplish next.”

VanZant also revealed that she is a huge wrestling fan and that The Rock is her favorite wrestler.

During the discussion, VanZant also spoke about being a “huge wrestling fan,” pointing to current Hollywood A-lister Dwayne Johnson, who famously worked as a headliner during WWE’s “Attitude Era” boom period as The Rock, as her favorite pro wrestler.

“I am a huge wrestling fan,” VanZant said. “I would say The Rock is my favorite person to watch for obvious reasons.”

Check out video highlights of Paige VanZant vs. “The Karate Hottie” Michelle Waterson, including the rear-naked choke submission finish from multiple camera angles, by clicking here. You can also read our complete UFC On FOX 22: VanZant vs. Waterson Results.

The Rock Gives Props To CM Punk’s Former UFC Opponent Mickey Gall

Hollywood big-shot Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson reciprocated some props after becoming aware of a recent Mickey Gall video clip.

Seen below is a tweet posted by the former WWE Superstar turned A-list actor, who responded to a video where Gall, the UFC …

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Hollywood big-shot Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson reciprocated some props after becoming aware of a recent Mickey Gall video clip.

Seen below is a tweet posted by the former WWE Superstar turned A-list actor, who responded to a video where Gall, the UFC contender famous for defeating former WWE Superstar CM Punk in his UFC debut earlier this year, called him a hero of his.

“[Love] this tough bastard [Mickey Gall] and his attitude,” wrote Johnson, an avid UFC fan. “Appreciate the [love]. Tequila’s on me brother.”

Gall meets fellow “Dana White: Lookin’ For A Fight” star Sage Northcutt at this Saturday’s UFC On FOX event, which features Paige VanZant vs. Michelle Waterson in the main event, as well as the retirement fight of MMA legend and former UFC title contender Urijah Faber, who meets hard-hitting Brad “One-Punch” Pickett.

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Briefly Considered Transitioning to MMA

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is an A-list celebrity, transitioning brilliantly from WWE professional wrestler to Hollywood action star, but that transition wasn’t instantaneous. After he officially ended his days as a regular performer in the WWE in 2004,…

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is an A-list celebrity, transitioning brilliantly from WWE professional wrestler to Hollywood action star, but that transition wasn’t instantaneous. After he officially ended his days as a regular performer in the WWE in 2004, his acting career hit a bit of a rut shortly thereafter. With an uncertain future, Johnson began considering another career…mixed martial artist. 

Speaking with former UFC champ Matt Serra and comedian Jim Norton on the UFC Unfiltered podcast, Johnson spoke how he once mulled over starting an MMA career.

“There was a time there where I thought, man, I achieved everything I wanted to achieve in WWE, my movie career is floundering a little bit, what do I do,” said Johnson (h/t MMAFighting.com for the transcription and warning, some NSFW language). “I was relatively still young, I think I was 34. I thought, oh well maybe UFC. Maybe I should do something like that.”

Needless to say, it didn’t pan out.

“In my head, I felt like it was at least a two-year process for me to even get in the [cage], let alone the UFC,” he continued. “I wasn’t quite too sure what to do…so the idea kind of fizzled out and I continued to stay on the path of movie making.”

Obviously, that proved to be the right call. After hitting the skids following a ho-hum performance in 2004’s Walking Tall, Johnson rebounded with lead roles in Gridiron Gang and Southland Tales before becoming a top action star with films like Faster and Fast Five. Since then, he has starred in a number of major motion pictures and has become an action icon unto himself. 

Despite his success, he still maintains close ties to both WWE (most recently appearing at WrestleMania 32 in April) and the UFC. Though things didn’t quite pan out with Johnson’s MMA career, WWE fans can look forward to UFC fights involving former world heavyweight champions Brock Lesnar (who returns to the cage at UFC 200) and CM Punk (who debuts at UFC 203), both of whom Johnson has high praise for. 

“Anybody, by the way, who is successful in one area and then commits to MMA, I just feel like it’s the toughest f–king sport in the world,” Johnson said. “I always take my hat off to those guys.”

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The Rock Considered Joining UFC After Leaving WWE

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson revealed during an appearance on the UFC Unfiltered podcast that he considered transitioning to MMA in the mid-2000s when he walked away from WWE and was pursuing acting. Johnson noted that he was at a crossroads where his movie career was floundering, and he contemplated a journey to UFC. The Rock added

The post The Rock Considered Joining UFC After Leaving WWE appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson revealed during an appearance on the UFC Unfiltered podcast that he considered transitioning to MMA in the mid-2000s when he walked away from WWE and was pursuing acting.

Johnson noted that he was at a crossroads where his movie career was floundering, and he contemplated a journey to UFC. The Rock added that the idea “fizzled out” and he stuck to acting.

“I did. I had a thought back in – well, when I was in college, I saw the first UFC that came out when I was down in Miami. So, when I quietly retired from WWE in 2004, I wanted to concentrate on my movie career. There was a time when my movies weren’t doing that well. I had a hard time finding my groove and finding what I felt like the audience really wanted to see from me. So, I was making these movies hitting singles and doubles, maybe. At that point, I was like, ‘What the f— do I do?’

“I felt like I had achieved everything in wrestling in WWE that I wanted to achieve. In my last program, it was with Brock (Lesnar). I was world champion, I dropped him the belt, he became the face of the company, and I was happy to quietly walk away. In our business, it’s called passing the torch and doing the honors.

“There was a time where I achieved everything I wanted to achieve in WWE, my movie career is floundering a little bit, what do I do? I was relatively still young, I think I was 34. I thought maybe, ‘Oh, UFC, maybe I should do something like that. I respect the sport of mixed martial arts so much, I felt like – in my head, I felt like it was still at least a two-year process to even get in the octagon, let alone UFC. I wasn’t quite too sure what to do or what kind of people to put around me at the time. So, the idea kind of fizzled out and I continued to stay on the path of movie-making. But, I’m still a big fan and love the sport. But, at one time, I did consider it.

The Rock added that he is happy for Brock Lesnar returning to the UFC and fighting Mark Hunt at UFC 200 as well as for CM Punk, who will be fighting Mickey Gall at UFC 203.

“By the way, I couldn’t have been happier for Brock when he got out of WWE and started doing MMA. Excited for CM Punk to make his debut, too. Look, anybody who is successful in one area and then commits to MMA, I feel like it’s the toughest f’n sport in the world, and I always take my hat off to those guys.”

You can listen to the podcast here:

The post The Rock Considered Joining UFC After Leaving WWE appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Considered A Move Towards The UFC About 10 Years Ago

With Brock Lesnar and CM Punk both officially on the upcoming UFC fight calendar for the second half of 2016, it’s interesting to speculate what the reaction would have been to the following third well-known WWE Superstar who apparently considered …

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With Brock Lesnar and CM Punk both officially on the upcoming UFC fight calendar for the second half of 2016, it’s interesting to speculate what the reaction would have been to the following third well-known WWE Superstar who apparently considered making the transition as well.

Former WWE Superstar and Hollywood A-lister Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson appeared on the second episode of the new “UFC Unfiltered” podcast with Jim Norton and Matt Serra and spoke about the time he contemplated making a move towards the Octagon.

“There was a time there where I thought, man, I achieved everything I wanted to achieve in WWE, my movie career is floundering a little bit, what do I do?” Johnson said. “I was relatively still young, I think I was 34. I thought, oh well maybe UFC. Maybe I should do something like that.”

As The Rock explained, the idea of a move to the UFC never got far past the mulling-over point.

“In my head, I felt like it was at least a two-year process for me to even get in the [cage], let alone the UFC,” Johnson said. “I wasn’t quite too sure what to do or what kind of people to put around me at the time, so the idea kind of fizzled out and I continued to stay on the path of movie making.”

Johnson, who also spoke about his former WWE colleague Brock Lesnar returning to fight Mark Hunt at the upcoming landmark UFC 200 event, concluded.

“Still a big fan and love the sport,” Johnson said. “But at one time, I did consider it.”

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson currently stars alongside Kevin Hart in the film “Central Intelligence,” which is in theaters now.

Episode two of the new “UFC Unfiltered” podcast, which features The Rock and CM Punk, is available now at UFC.com.

H/T to MMAFighting.com for transcribing the above quotes.

The Rock Vows to Take out UFC Heavyweight Champ Fabricio Werdum…to Lunch

Dwayne Johnson, known to WWE fans by his ring name The Rock, is a very busy man. That said, he managed to carve out some time in his schedule to call out UFC heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum…to a nice lunch.
Check out his Sunday post on Twitter (via…

Dwayne Johnson, known to WWE fans by his ring name The Rock, is a very busy man. That said, he managed to carve out some time in his schedule to call out UFC heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum…to a nice lunch.

Check out his Sunday post on Twitter (via UFC’s Twitter account):

“Heavyweight champion Fabricio, the Rock is coming to take you. I’m coming to take you right to lunch, because I like where my face is at. Congratulations, champ,” he said before thanking UFC President Dana White and UFC fans for their support of his upcoming television series Ballers.

Werdum, of course, captured the UFC heavyweight title last week at UFC 188 by beating the seemingly unstoppable (but oft-injured) Cain Velasquez. Werdum became a household name for MMA fans by beating Fedor Emelianenko in 2010 in the now-defunct Strikeforce promotion. Long regarded as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist, he built up a strong arsenal of strikes and used them to batter Velasquez before finishing him with a third-round guillotine choke.

Johnson is best known for his run in the WWE (WWF at the time), where he had legendary rivalries with the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H. He has made sporadic appearances ever since and has amassed a huge number of accolades, including eight world heavyweight titles, five tag team titles, two intercontinental titles and a win in the 2000 Royal Rumble match.

Johnson is a familiar face for UFC fans, regardless of whether they are into professional wrestling, and can be regularly spotted at UFC events and discussing fights on social media. Even when he is shooting films, he attracts fighters such as Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey (the latter starring alongside him in the two most recent installments of The Fast and the Furious). He also does great work staying abreast of UFC goings-on and associating himself with top names in the promotion.

Here’s hoping Werdum has the opportunity to take him up on the offer.

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