MMA: 13 Politicians We'd Love to See in the Octagon

There's not much difference between the political chambers and the MMA cage. One is just a little more figurative than the other.

But that doesn't mean there can't be some cross-pollination there. Usually you hear more about athletes entering the lawmaking realm (Chael Sonnen comes to mind, as do guys like Tom Osborne and Bill Bradley outside the MMA world). But why can't it work both ways, at least in my mind?

Here are 13 politicians I'd personally really like to see in the UFC Octagon. This has little if anything to do with political views or, what's the word, reality, and more to do with them having personalities or backgrounds that would seem to suit a turn in combat sports.

Also, these are all relatively modern political figures. So no Genghis Khan or King Arthur or whatever. Anyway, please enjoy. 

Honorable Mention: Barack Obama

Go ahead...give Jacob Volkmann his wish. Just don't say I didn't warn you, Jacob, when you find yourself a little swarmed by a bunch of men in black.

13. Some Korean Guy

Lots of these types of things on YouTube, but I picked this guy from the Korean parliament because, well, look at those judo moves!

12. Aaron Schock

America's Fittest Congressman (R-Ill.) looks like he could make some noise in the cage with proper training.

11. Margaret Thatcher

She just seems like a lady who can handle her business.

Great Britain's first female prime minister is also one of the more pugnacious in recent history.

10. Ulysses S. Grant

The Union Army commander-turned-president was like the Tank Abbott of Civil War generals. Not very concerned with bodily harm (his own or others). And drunk. Like, hammered drunk. All the time.

He even looks like Tank. If you didn't know who that was, couldn't he pass for Tank's great-great grandfather?

9. Nikita Kruschev

The Russian leader who famously banged one of his shoes on a table during a U.N. meeting, in part to decry the United States, seemed to have the temperament for the cage.

8. Kim Jong Un

Kim Jong Il's son and successor—nay, GREAT Successor—would be worth watching just to hear the North Korean spin when it happened.

What a gracious and wonderful leader to be so generous as to let his opponent win! It's just like when his dad launched all those intentionally faulty missiles. We just want to make everyone feel better about themselves.

Although, if I'm being honest, he looks pretty imposing in that photo.

7. Fidel Castro

The barrell-chested Communist has survived, by one count, 638 attempts on his life. His nation, like it or not, has also produced some great boxers and some MMA standouts, most notably Hector Lombard and Alexis Vila, both of Bellator.

6. Andrew Jackson

If you think some members of Congress today are stubborn and combative, try Old Hickory on for size.

5. Vladimir Putin

Putin practices judo and sambo and is apparently a big Fedor fan. Aaand, I'll just leave it there.

4. George Washington

Often lost in all the Washington mythology is one simple fact: The man was a physical specimen.

He stood around 6'4", which was huge for that time. He was also not only a noted warrior and military leader, but an unparalleled horseman and a graceful dancer to boot.

3. Manny Pacquiao

When he's not eating opponents alive or flirting with Floyd Mayweather, the best boxer on planet Earth serves as a member of Congress in the Philippines. And yeah, I think I'd like to see him fight in the Octagon.

2. Theodore Roosevelt

Teddy practiced boxing, wrestling and judo throughout his life. He was also purportedly America's first judo brown belt.

T-1. Preston Brooks and Charles Sumner

Consider this one a tie.

Back in the bad old days, Brooks, a Southern "gentleman" who supported slavery, savagely beat an unsuspecting and unarmed Sumner with a cane following a fiery anti-slavery speech from Sumner.

I'd like to see a rematch.