The growth of the UFC into the mainstream media over the past twenty years has been immense. So it’s no surprise that more and more people are joining their local gyms and starting to train in some form of martial arts. Many notable names have made their passion for MMA clear over the years. Here are five celebrities in MMA.
Celebrities in MMA: Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes started training in martial arts when he was 12 years old. When the Floridian actor was 23, an agent discovered him competing at a martial arts competition and put him on the Hollywood path. The sport helped Snipes secure the lead role in the Blade trilogy, earning a combined $416 million at the worldwide box office.
In 2005 Snipes was in hot water after reportedly owing the IRS over $23 million. In hopes of making a quick buck to pay it off, the actor’s agent reached out to Joe Rogan for a massive PPV fight in the UFC. Rogan recalled the potential fight on his podcast, “I was like I’m gonna choke the f**k out of this guy. I’m gonna get a hold of him, and I’m gonna squeeze the s**t out of him, and they’re gonna give me a lot of money”.
Tom Hardy
When Tom Hardy was preparing for his lead role in Gavin O’Connor’s Warrior, he would train for two hours a day of boxing, muay thai, and Jiu-Jitsu. The British actor told The Guardian that he held this six-hour regime every day for three months. So it’s no surprise Hardy fell in love with the sport and recently received his purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from coach Richard Nogueira.
In 2022, Hardy made a surprise appearance in a Jiu-Jitsu tournament in Milton Keynes under the alias Edward Hardy. Also becoming one of the celebrities in MMA, he went on to earn a gold medal with a quick submission against a Jiu-Jitsu blue belt in the final (see below). Although, it wasn’t the first time we’ve seen the Hollywood star compete in public. He also won the REORG open Jiu-Jitsu tournament, which aimed to raise funds for military personnel, veterans, and emergency service workers.
Wiz Khalifa
In 2021 the Professional Fighters League (PFL) announced that rapper Wiz Khalifa has invested in the league and will play a part in shaping the promotion in the future. Since joining the ownership group, The Grammy-nominated rapper has performed at the PFL finals and promoted the PFL’s brand through various tweets. Other notable investors on the board are Jake Paul, Tony Robbins, and Kevin Hart.
Khalifa spoke to Logan Paul about how he fell into the combat sports world as a guest on the Impaulsive podcast.
“I’ve been training for like five years now. I don’t know, I f**k with it, it’s just fun. It’s cool to learn new s**t. I think the older you get, you just get into different things like your body just tells you what’s cool and what’s not cool.”
Demi Lovato
Some fans may think Demi Lovato’s involvement in MMA goes as far as that time she dated Luke Rockhold for a bit in 2016. However, the Grammy-nominated singer’s passion for martial arts runs deep. Lovato is a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and in 2016 one of their coaches spoke to TMZ and stated that “she throws elbows better than most of the UFC guys that come in here”. He also claimed that the singer was more than willing to have a professional fight.
In 2018 Lovato experienced a near-fatal opioid overdose which led to the 30-year-old being hospitalised for two weeks and subsequently entering rehab facilities. Once Lovato returned from a 90-day stint in rehab, the 26-year-old at the time, announced via Instagram that they were training MMA again. In an interview with People magazine, the singer talked about how the physical activity of martial arts has helped her stay sober and recommends it to anyone experiencing anxiety or depression.
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg discussed his newfound love for mixed martial arts on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast last year. “The question isn’t how did I get into it, it’s how did I not know about it until just now?” Zuckerberg explained to Rogan. “From the very first session that I did, like five minutes in, I was like ‘Where has this been my whole life?”. The tech billionaire has shared videos of himself rolling and sparring on his Instagram, and last September, he won gold and silver in both gi and no gi categories in a white belt tournament.
More recently, Elon Musk decided to call for a fight with the Facebook founder on Twitter, to which he replied with an old Khabib Nurmagomedov line “Send me location” (see below). Dana White has even agreed to showcase the fight live on UFC PPV. To read more about the madness that is billionaires in 4-ounce gloves, click here.
What do you think of these celebrities in MMA? Can you add anymore to the list? Let us know in the comments!
