# Comparison of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts

Professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (also known as MMA) both combine grappling and strikes. In MMA, fights are competitions, in contrast to professional wrestling where the outcomes and moves performed are often scripted or predetermined. Despite this difference, several people have competed in both professional wrestling and MMA.

## Comparison

Professional wrestling could be considered a performance art which combines athletics with theatrical performance. Matches are contested on a pre-determined basis, where the fight on display is merely for entertainment purposes. Viewers are integral to a professional wrestling match, as the audience is who the action is for. Professional wrestling mixes many styles of amateur wrestling, striking and showmanship to display a fight, whilst the two performers work together to achieve a "worked" fight. Professional wrestling was first popularized in the 19th century Europe as a carnival attraction.
Mixed Martial Arts, is a hybrid of many types of physical full-contact sports; including wrestling, boxing and Martial Arts, such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The early 1990s saw the Ultimate Fighting Championship popularize the term "Mixed Martial Arts", for such a bout. Competitors in MMA are generally skilled in many different styles, however, it is possible to be only proficient in one type of combat. As some professional wrestling moves are simply worked versions of legitimate holds, there can be a crossover between the two.
Possibly the most successful crossover pro wrestler and MMA competitor is Brock Lesnar, who has won the world championships in both the WWE and UFC. Other wrestlers to have won world championships in both MMA and Pro Wrestling include Bobby Lashley (Shark Fights Heavyweight Championship as well as the Impact World Championship, the ECW World Championship and the WWE Championship), and UFC Hall of Famers Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock, who won the UFC Superfight Championship and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

### Rivalry

Since MMA's rise to prominence in the 1990s, some pro wrestlers or MMA fighters have been cynical against the other's profession. This can be an attack on the sport as a whole, or acting as a fan dismissing certain actions within that sport.

## MMA records of professional wrestlers

Below is a list of professional wrestlers to have appeared in an official Mixed Martial Arts match, and their career win–loss record.

### Men

| Name | Nationality | W | L | D | Ref |
| Tank Abbott | USA | 10 | 15 | 0 | |
| Peter Aerts | NLD | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Aaron Aguilera | USA | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Akebono | USA/ JPN | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Schuyler Andrews | USA | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| Yoji Anjo | JPN | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
| Shinya Aoki | JPN | 47 | 10 | 1 | |
| Andrei Arlovski | Belarus | 34 | 21 | 2 | |
| Ricardo Arona | BRA | 14 | 5 | 0 | |
| Josh Barnett | USA | 35 | 8 | 0 | |
| Phil Baroni | USA | 16 | 19 | 0 | |
| Dave Bautista | USA | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Iouri Bekichev | RUS | 2 | 5 | 0 | |
| Dave Beneteau | CAN | 6 | 5 | 1 | |
| Dieusel Berto | Haiti | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Scott Bigelow | USA | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Tariel Bitsadze | Georgia | 7 | 6 | 0 | |
| Dan Bobish | USA | 17 | 9 | 0 | |
| Stephan Bonnar | USA | 15 | 9 | 0 | |
| William Brenneman | USA | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Canek | MEX | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dos Caras Jr. | MEX | 9 | 6 | 0 | |
| Anthony Carelli | CAN/ ITA | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Tim Catalfo | USA | 4 | 2 | 0 | |
| Hong-man Choi | South Korea | 4 | 5 | 0 | |
| Mitch Clarke | CAN | 11 | 5 | 0 | |
| Mark Coleman | USA | 16 | 10 | 0 | |
| Mirko Cro Cop | Croatia | 38 | 11 | 3 | |
| Eric Esch | USA | 17 | 10 | 1 | |
| Don Frye | USA | 20 | 9 | 1 | |
| Katsuhisa Fujii | JPN | 9 | 18 | 1 | |
| Kazuyuki Fujita | JPN | 18 | 14 | 0 | |
| Takaku Fuke | JPN | 16 | 30 | 5 | |
| Masakatsu Funaki | JPN | 40 | 13 | 2 | |
| Jack Gallagher | UK | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Matt Ghaffari | IRN/ USA | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Rodney Glunder | NLD | 25 | 20 | 3 | |
| Gary Goodridge | Trinidad and Tobago | 23 | 22 | 1 |
| Gerard Gordeau | NLD | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Sotir Gotchev | Bulgaria | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| Daniel Gracie | BRA | 5 | 4 | 1 | |
| Renzo Gracie | BRA | 14 | 7 | 2 | |
| Rolles Gracie Jr. | BRA | 8 | 4 | 0 | |
| Sam Greco | AUS | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Jake Hager | USA | 3 | 0 | 1 | |
| Tony Halme | FIN | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Volk Han | RUS | 21 | 8 | 1 | |
| Lee Hasdell | ENG | 13 | 16 | 0 | 1 |
| Satoshi Hasegawa | JPN | 12 | 17 | 2 | |
| Chris Haseman | AUS | 20 | 17 | 3 | 0 |
| Satoshi Honma | JPN | 4 | 6 | 3 |
| Tom Howard | USA | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Mark Hunt | NZL | 13 | 14 | 1 | |
| Shoichi Ichimiya | JPN | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
| Mikhail Ilyukhin | RUS | 30 | 11 | 1 | |
| Masakazu Imanari | JPN | 39 | 22 | 2 | |
| Egan Inoue | JPN | 13 | 8 | 0 | |
| Enson Inoue | JPN | 12 | 8 | 0 | |
| Satoshi Ishii | JPN | 25 | 12 | 1 | |
| Quinton Jackson | USA | 38 | 14 | 0 | |
| Dylan James | New Zealand | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Brian Johnston | USA | 5 | 5 | 0 | |
| Nathan Jones | AUS | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Reuben de Jong | NZ | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Nobuaki Kakuda | JPN | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Georgi Kandelaki | Georgia | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Masahito Kakihara | JPN | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Nobuaki Kakuda | JPN | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Rob Kaman | NLD | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hiromitsu Kanehara | JPN | 19 | 27 | 5 | |
| Aleksandr Karelin | RUS | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kid Kash | USA | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Kendo Kashin | JPN | 1 | 4 | 1 | |
| Joop Kasteel | NLD | 19 | 13 | 0 | 1 |
| Yusuke Kawaguchi | JPN | 18 | 12 | 0 | |
| Ryo Kawamura | JPN | 19 | 11 | 4 | |
| Mark Kerr | USA | 15 | 11 | 0 | |
| David Khakhaleishvili | Georgia | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Changpuek Kiatsongrit | Thailand | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Katsuya Kitamura | JPN | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Kōji Kitao | JPN | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Yuki Kondo | JPN | 64 | 38 | 9 | |
| Masayuki Kono | JPN | 3 | 5 | 0 | |
| Andrei Kopylov | Russia | 5 | 10 | 0 | |
| Tsuyoshi Kosaka | JPN | 28 | 21 | 2 | |
| Emil Kristev | Bulgaria | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| Viktor Kruger | Austria | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Glenn Kulka | CAN | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| Yujiro Kushida | JPN | 6 | 0 | 2 | |
| Bobby Lashley | USA | 15 | 2 | 0 | |
| Muhammed Lawal | USA | 21 | 6 | 1 | |
| Tom Lawlor | USA | 11 | 8 | 1 | |
| Jérôme Le Banner | FRA | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| Dave Legeno | ENG | 4 | 3 | 0 | |
| Brock Lesnar | USA/ CAN | 5 | 3 | 1 | |
| Jushin Thunder Liger | JPN | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Gene Lydick | USA | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Rodney Mack | USA | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Brian Mailhot | USA | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Carl Malenko | USA | 6 | 4 | 0 | |
| Andre Mannaart | NLD | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| Daijiro Matsui | JPN | 12 | 28 | 6 | |
| Justin McCully | USA | 11 | 5 | 2 | |
| Taka Michinoku | JPN | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Ikuhisa Minowa | JPN | 64 | 42 | 8 | |
| Nick Mitchell | USA | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Kazushi Miyamoto | JPN | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Toshiyuki Moriya | JPN | 4 | 3 | 0 | |
| Takehiro Murahama | JPN | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Kazunari Murakami | JPN | 5 | 5 | 0 | |
| Mitsuya Nagai | JPN | 4 | 7 | 0 | |
| Shinsuke Nakamura | JPN | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| Tatsuo Nakano | JPN | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Yuichiro Nagashima | JPN | 4 | 3 | 0 | |
| Yuji Nagata | JPN | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Yasuhito Namekawa | JPN | 25 | 16 | 4 | |
| Masayuki Naruse | JPN | 9 | 14 | 0 | |
| Steve Nelson | USA | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| Don Nakaya Nielsen | USA | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| José Luis Alvarado Nieves | MEX | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Jan Nortje | ZAF | 2 | 6 | 0 | |
| Giant Ochiai | JPN | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| Naoya Ogawa | JPN | 7 | 2 | 0 | |
| Sean O'Haire | USA | 4 | 2 | 0 | |
| Hajime Ohara | JPN | 11 | 3 | 0 | |
| Michiyoshi Ohara | JPN | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Tito Ortiz | USA | 21 | 12 | 1 | |
| Alexander Otsuka | JPN | 5 | 13 | 0 | |
| Alistair Overeem | NLD | 47 | 19 | 1 | |
| Valentijn Overeem | NLD | 32 | 34 | 0 | |
| Erik Paulson | USA | 11 | 4 | 2 | |
| Willie Peeters | NLD | 9 | 10 | 1 | |
| Craig Pittman | USA | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Mike Polchlopek | USA | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Daniel Puder | USA | 8 | 0 | 0 | |
| CM Punk | USA | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Kevin Randleman | USA | 17 | 16 | 0 | |
| Herman Renting | NLD | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| Jeremiah Riggs | USA | 7 | 7 | 0 | |
| Matthew Riddle | USA | 8 | 3 | 2 | |
| Shannon Ritch | USA | 58 | 89 | 4 | |
| Ricco Rodriguez | USA | 54 | 27 | 1 | |
| Rene Rooze | NLD | 5 | 2 | 0 | |
| Bas Rutten | NLD/ USA | 28 | 4 | 1 | |
| Kazushi Sakuraba | JPN | 26 | 15 | 1 | |
| Kazuo Sakurada | JPN | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Yukio Sakaguchi | JPN | 6 | 7 | 1 | |
| Wataru Sakata | JPN | 11 | 14 | 0 | |
| Naoki Sano | JPN | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Junior dos Santos | BRA | 21 | 10 | 0 | |
| Bob Sapp | USA | 11 | 16 | 0 | |
| Kensuke Sasaki | JPN | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Masaaki Satake | JPN | 1 | 8 | 1 | |
| Hikaru Sato | JPN | 24 | 23 | 4 | |
| Takeshi Sato | JPN | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Munenori Sawa | JPN | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Bob Schrijber | NLD | 20 | 17 | 1 | |
| Billy Scott | USA | 3 | 4 | 0 | |
| Gzim Selmani | NLD | 4 | 2 | 0 | |
| Dolgorsürengiin Serjbüdee | MNG | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Adrian Serrano | USA | 56 | 29 | 4 | |
| Dan Severn | USA | 101 | 19 | 7 | |
| Frank Shamrock | USA | 23 | 10 | 2 | |
| Ken Shamrock | USA | 28 | 17 | 2 | |
| Katsuyori Shibata | JPN | 4 | 11 | 1 | |
| Akira Shoji | JPN | 14 | 17 | 5 | |
| Montanha Silva | BRA | 2 | 7 | 0 | |
| Paulo Cesar Silva | BRA | 2 | 6 | 0 | |
| August Smisl | Austria | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Elvis Sinosic | AUS | 8 | 11 | 2 | |
| Peter Smit | NLD | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Maurice Smith | USA | 14 | 14 | 0 | |
| Joe Son | South Korea | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Chael Sonnen | USA | 31 | 17 | 0 | |
| Krzysztof Soszynski | Poland | 26 | 12 | 1 | |
| Sergei Sousserov | Russia | 2 | 8 | 0 | |
| Eric Spicely | USA | 13 | 9 | 0 | |
| Takashi Sugiura | JPN | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| Mitsuhisa Sunabe | JPN | 29 | 11 | 4 | |
| Shinichi Suzukawa | JPN | 2 | 4 | 0 | |
| Minoru Suzuki | JPN | 30 | 20 | 0 | |
| Tim Sylvia | USA | 31 | 10 | 0 | |
| Nobuhiko Takada | JPN | 2 | 6 | 2 | |
| Kazuo Takahashi | JPN | 30 | 28 | 3 | 1 |
| Yoshihiro Takayama | JPN | 1 | 4 | 0 | |
| Oleg Taktarov | RUS | 17 | 5 | 2 | |
| Kiyoshi Tamura | JPN | 44 | 19 | 3 | |
| Sylvester Terkay | USA | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| Elias Theodorou | CAN | 19 | 3 | 0 | |
| Oli Thompson | ENG | 21 | 16 | 0 | |
| Sander Thonhauser | NED | 11 | 9 | 1 | |
| Mick Tierney | IRE | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Zaza Tkeshelashvili | Georgia | 9 | 6 | 0 | |
| Frank Trigg | USA | 21 | 9 | 0 | |
| Nobuhiro Tsurumaki | JPN | 1 | 14 | 0 | |
| Ryuki Ueyama | JPN | 12 | 18 | 5 | |
| Caol Uno | JPN | 34 | 22 | 5 | |
| Kozo Urita | JPN | 14 | 12 | 4 | |
| Bart Vale | USA | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Paul Varelans | USA | 9 | 9 | 0 | |
| Cain Velasquez | USA | 14 | 3 | 0 | |
| Dick Vrij | NLD | 7 | 7 | 1 | |
| Takuya Wada | JPN | 20 | 9 | 11 | |
| Wakashoyo | JPN | 0 | 6 | 1 | |
| James Warring | USA | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| Yuichi Watanabe | JPN | 6 | 3 | 0 | |
| Ron Waterman | USA | 16 | 6 | 2 | |
| George Weingeroff | USA | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Vernon White | USA | 26 | 33 | 2 | |
| Willy Wilhelm | NLD | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Pete Williams | USA | 12 | 6 | 0 | |
| Steve Williams | USA | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Willie Williams | USA | 9 | 4 | 0 | |
| Tadao Yasuda | JPN | 2 | 4 | 0 | |
| Kenichi Yamamoto | JPN | 5 | 12 | 2 | |
| Naofumi Yamamoto | JPN | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Yoshihisa Yamamoto | JPN | 14 | 25 | 1 | |
| Yamato Onodera | JPN | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Ryūshi Yanagisawa | JPN | 24 | 25 | 9 | |
| Keita Yano | JPN | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Toru Yano | JPN | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Emmanuel Yarbrough | USA | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Yoshiaki Yatsu | JPN | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Hirotaka Yokoi | JPN | 11 | 5 | 0 | |
| Hawk Younkins | USA | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Gilbert Yvel | NLD | 40 | 16 | 1 | |
| Nikolai Zouev | RUS | 1 | 4 | 0 | |

### Women

| Name | Nationality | W | L | D | Ref |
| Carlos Amano | JPN | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Reggie Bennett | USA | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Daria Berenato | USA | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| Shayna Baszler | USA | 15 | 11 | 0 | |
| Melissa Cervantes | MEX | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Jessamyn Duke | USA | 3 | 5 | 0 | |
| Esui | Mongolia | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Emi Fujino | JPN | 25 | 13 | 1 | |
| Jazzy Gabert | GER | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Svetlana Goundarenko | RUS | 6 | 2 | 0 | |
| Yoshiko Hirano | JPN | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| Yumiko Hotta | JPN | 5 | 5 | 0 | |
| Mai Ichii | JPN | 4 | 5 | 0 | |
| Chie Ishii | JPN | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kaoru Ito | JPN | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| Fuka Kakimoto | JPN | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| Shinobu Kandori | JPN | 4 | 1 | 0 | |
| Syuri Kondo | JPN | 6 | 3 | 0 | |
| Aya Koyama | JPN | 4 | 10 | 1 | |
| Valerie Loureda | USA | 4 | 1 | 0 | |
| Mika Nagano | JPN | 18 | 13 | 1 | |
| Kaori Nakayama | JPN | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Michiko Omukai | JPN | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jeslen Mishelle Saenz (aka Desi Derata) | USA | 2 | 0 | 0 | [22] [23] |
| Ronda Rousey | USA | 12 | 2 | 0 | |
| Sexy Star | MEX | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| Sumie Sakai | JPN | 2 | 4 | 1 | |
| Marina Shafir | Moldova | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Natsuki Taiyo | JPN | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Yoko Takahashi | JPN | 15 | 12 | 2 | |
| Lei'D Tapa | USA | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Paige VanZant | USA | 8 | 5 | 0 | |
| Megumi Yabushita | JPN | 19 | 23 | 0 | |
| Yoko Yamada | JPN | 6 | 1 | 0 | |