Wrestling and UFC crossovers

There are a lot of similarities between wrestling and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Not only are the fights in both sports thrilling, but those involved are also some of the world’s best athletes.

Below, we’ll take a look at the relationship between the UFC and wrestling. We’ll also look at the best crossovers in the history of the two sports, and take a look at some betting tips and UFC predictions.

The relationship between wrestling and the UFC

Both the UFC and wrestling are forms of combat sports.

The UFC is a relatively new mainstream phenomenon compared to wrestling. With a focus on Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), the UFC is a tough and intense competition where fighters in a range of weight divisions battle it out for world championships.

The biggest organization in the world of wrestling is the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). The WWE, as well as other professional wrestling organizations, host regular events across the globe that are watched by millions.

What distinguishes wrestling from the UFC is that athletes in the WWE are entertainers who fight in matches for which the results have been pre-determined. This means that some wrestlers may be great actors and improvisers, but poor fighters.

There are, however, as we’ll see below, some wrestlers who are excellent fighters and have gone on to dominate the UFC as well.

The best wrestling and UFC crossovers

Let’s take a look at some of the best wrestling and UFC crossovers in history.

Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar is regarded as one of the greatest sportsmen in history. Lesnar has crossed a multitude of sports, including wrestling, MMA and American football.

He began his professional career back in 2000 in wrestling. Signed to the WWE, Lesnar became the youngest champion at the age of 25. He’s also won the Royal Rumble twice, the Money in the Bank ladder match, and the King of the Ring.

In 2007, Lesnar turned his attention to MMA. He joined the UFC in 2008 and won the heavyweight championship in his first year. Injury forced him to give up that title, but he reclaimed it again to become the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion in 2010.

Lesnar has since left the UFC but continues to fight regularly in the WWE.

Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey began her fighting career in the world of judo. She represented the USA in the 2008 Summer Olympics where she won bronze.

A few years later she signed up with the UFC and was the organization’s inaugural women’s bantamweight champion — a title she successfully defended six times.

Rousey retired from the UFC in 2016. Her impact was so significant that she was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018. In the same year, she launched a career in professional wrestling.

Rousey now fights in the WWE, with her debut coming in WrestleMania. In her first year, she won the Raw Women’s Championship and went on to win the Royal Rumble in 2022.

This impressive transition has led to her being voted one of the greatest female athletes of all time. She has now become a firm favorite in the eyes of both wrestling and UFC fans.

Betting on wrestling and the UFC

If you’re interested in betting on wrestling and the UFC, there are a few different options available to you.

There are different types of bets that you can place in addition to the simple win/lose options. For example, in the UFC, you can bet on the number of rounds that the fight will last. This is usually available in the form of an over/under bet. So, in a three-round fight, you could bet that there will be under 1.5 rounds, meaning that the fight will be over in the first round.

When it comes to both wrestling and UFC, you can usually find lots of deals and offers advertised by betting companies in the run-up to headline events, such as WrestleMania.

You may find enhanced odds, especially among competing sportsbooks. You may also find matched bet welcome bonuses. This type of offer is usually made to new players. The betting site agrees to match the value of your first bet, sometimes up to $1,000 or even $2,000.

So, if you bet $500 on Brock Lesnar to win his next fight and he does, the betting site will match your stake, meaning you’ll get a payout for a bet of $1,000.