Whether you’re looking at the latest wrestling news, or you’re browsing through MMA news headlines, you may be confused to see some names crossing over into both. Surely you can’t be both a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter and a pro wrestler? While it’s unlikely to happen at the same time, you will be surprised at how many MMA fighters transitioned into pro wrestling or vice versa.

If you weren’t aware of that being the case, maybe you need to pay more attention to the latest wrestling news from now on. Here are just a few of the many MMA fighters who dabbled or moved entirely over to pro wrestling.

Brock Lesnar

It would make sense to start this list by first mentioning Brock Lesnar. If there’s one man that appeared in the latest wrestling news and MMA news for all the right reasons, it would be Brock Lesnar.

Brock is the only man to have both a WWE and UFC title. He made the transition to and from MMA and pro wrestling many times, with varying degrees of success in both. In 2002 he bet The Rock and was the youngest WWE world champion at the tender age of 25. He last fought in the UFC in 2016, but failed a USADA drug test which turned his win into a ‘no contest.’

CM Punk

Wrestling was in its prime in the 1990s, and CM Punk was one of the many pro wrestlers and MMA fighters who shot to fame during this time. He began his career in the 1990s, fought against big names such as Samoa Joe and Daniel Bryan, and put himself front and center in the latest wrestling news.

He then signed a contract with WWE, won five world titles, bet John Cena two years running, and left WWE in 2014. Following on from his departure, he signed a contract with UFC and lost several fights. He also became a prominent figure in the latest wrestling news for all the injuries he sustained.

Ken Shamrock

If you followed MMA news and the latest wrestling news in the 1990s, you wouldn’t have been able to turn a page without seeing the name Ken Shamrock. Ken was a famous UFC fighter throughout the 1990s and began his MMA career in Japan in 1993. He became a professional wrestler after intense training and fought in Japan and the United States.

In 2000, he steered away from WWF to focus on MMA but became the NWA heavyweight champion during this time. He continued to split his time between both sports throughout the early 2000s, appearing in many MMA news stories alongside the latest wrestling news.

There have been many MMA fighters who have transitioned into pro wrestling, but few as famous as Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, and Ken Shamrock. These three names clogged up the MMA news and latest wrestling news for a number of years, gaining many fans in the process.