How would The Rock have fared in MMA?
Its 1996 and a young stud by the name of Dwayne Douglas Johnson has embarked on a new career path: professional wrestling. Performing as Flex Kavana in the USWA, the future Rock was a hot prospect from the get go due to his impressive mix of size, agility and charisma (though it would take the WWF/E a little while to really cash in on that last one). Fresh off the boat from a topsy turvy tenure in NFL Canada, Johnson had just started his path to superstardom. The UFC was a relatively young promotion in 96 and in hot water thanks to the likes of US Senator John McCain chastising it as human cockfighting. For Johnson, WWF was the answer to his financial woes. The industry was heating up at the time thanks to the increasingly aggressive Monday Night Wars. Furthermore, his old man, the legendary Rocky Johnson, was right there to get him a foot in the door. Fast forward to 2021 and the landscape of both professional wrestling and MMA couldnt be more different. The UFC is a ratings and buy rates juggernaut thanks to a combo of Dana Whites business acumen and the superstar drawing power of fighters such as Brock Lesnar, Jon Jones, Conor McGregor, Georges St-Pierre and Ronda Rousey over the years. WWE, meanwhile, is not quite the hip, hot thing it was in the late 90s. The Rocks love of MMA is well known. The big man famously held the BMF title during the ceremonial weigh-ins for Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal and presented the belt to 'Gamebred' after his win at UFC 244. Ever a good sport, Johnson even laughed off Diazs unfortunate post-fight rant at his expense. "That's the Nate [Diaz] we all know and love. "@TheRock didn't take Diaz's post-fight comments personally  (via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/Pg49eHsIgW  ESPN MMA (@espnmma) November 11, 2019  He also recently congratulated middleweight champ Israel Adesanya on his impressive UFC 263 victory over Marvin Vettori. Adesanya, a fan of Johnson's seminal Rock wrestling persona, even played the former WWE champ's entrance theme after his win. At 65 and 250-plus pounds, Johnson wouldve been a heavyweight with a titanic reach advantage over most of his foes. Thanks to his years spent playing football, Johnson was adept at high power exercises such as sprinting and explosive weight lifting movements like the clean and jerk. This wouldve granted him a good deal of power in the octagon to both hit hard and move fast. His cardio was also superlative due to the rigorous nature of playing American football. His WrestleMania XXIX showdown with John Cena also revealed to us that the Hobbs and Shaw leading man has a superhumanly high pain threshold. The Rock tore his abdominal and adductor tendons off his pelvis during the bout, an injury that would leave most folks in a crumpled, agonized heap. Instead, Johnson finished the bout with zero complaints, even taking the time to raise Cenas hand in victory as the show closed out. If you can handle an injury that even Mick Foley winces at, you know youre in the toughest of the tough. When it comes to size, speed and strength, a prime Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson couldve been something special in the cage. Theres just one problem, he has little in the way of any martial arts experience. A college football player-turned-sports entertainer, Johnson would have been a late starter in whichever martial arts he selected to create his fighting style. Despite having all the athletic tools, the lack of muscle memory and combat expertise wouldve likely hindered The Rock's bell-to-bell prowess. This issue would've left him relying heavily on his power over any real precision. This, in turn, wouldve likely led to a slightly reckless style of fighting a la MMA converts such as former Worlds Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowski and fellow WWE legend Brock Lesnar. Overall, Johnson wouldve likely been a big star in the UFC thanks to his immense charisma and showmanship. However, considering his inexperience and the fact that hes been struggling with knee problems since his football days, its unlikely he wouldve reached the heights of MMA heavyweight GOAT candidates such as Stipe Miocic, Fedor Emelianenko and Cain Velasquez. Funnily enough, The Rock's career trajectory wouldve likely matched the BMF boys, Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal: big star fighters whove never quite ascended the mountain. Edited by Harvey Leonard