10 MMA Fighters Who Could Transition to Boxing…Maybe

The fight game is an odd thing.

Only in the world of combative sport could a fighter like Kimbo Slice—a rank amateur in nearly all areas—take a losing effort in a Youtube video and turn that into a career in professional MMA, spin that into a failed bid on The Ultimate Fighter and upon exodus from the UFC become a professional boxer who is gaining more attention day-by-day.

Talk about making the most of what you’ve got.

Slice isn’t the only MMA fighter to ever try his hand in the boxing ring: Jens Pulver made the transition for a period of time, even if it was really only in the spirit of exploration, and he didn’t do too bad.

No matter how we, as fans, feel about fighters from one sport crossing over, it is going to start to happen more and more.

Teddy Atlas, the color commentator for one of Pulver’s fights, had this to say about the sport of MMA:

"

There’s nothing that makes up for that experience of being in the amateurs than being a fighter. But, ultimate fighting comes pretty close. Getting in that ring, dealing with that pressure, dealing with that fear…Confronting those two things, being able to, being forced to be disciplined under those kinds of conditions…Wrestling, also—real wrestling: high school wrestling, college wrestling—that helps a lot. First of all, you’ve got to be very disciplined. Second of all, you’ve got to be smart. Wrestlers just don’t go in there and grab somebody, throw them to the ground. You’ve gotta know movement, gotta use your range, you have to face one-on-one competition. Not a bad way to get ready for boxing.

"

Atlas ended by saying that MMA and boxing are “close second cousins.”

And he couldn’t be more correct.

As MMA continues to grow, some of its best fighters have looked to the sport of boxing and made it openly known that they think they could step into the squared circle and topple those kings.

Junior dos Santos said that he felt he could defeat the Klitschko brothers in a boxing bout, while other MMA fighters of note, such as Nick Diaz, were looking at boxing matches against men such as Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy.

Diaz, no stranger to the sport of boxing, has acted as a sparring partner for Andre Ward in the past. But the difference between sparring and a real fight is as vast as the Grand Canyon.

But it does beg the question: “Who could make the transition to boxing with any kind of success?”

Here’s a list of ten MMA fighters who could do it…maybe.   

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

Advantages: KO power, good chin, experience

Areas of Opportunity: defensive skills, endurance, jab, counter-punching, footwork

Proposed Trainers: Teddy Atlas

Chance of Moderate Success: High

Chance of High Success: Moderate to high

Chance of a Championship: None, really.

If anyone can follow in the footsteps of Kimbo Slice, it has to be Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

Jackson would be a promoter's dream; he’s already got an established name, no contractual ties or obligations to the sport of MMA and when push comes to shove, Jackson will throw heavy leather or go out on his shield.

Given that Jackson has long wanted to engage in stand-up wars, the sport of boxing seems like a perfect fit for him, and from there Teddy Atlas seems like the perfect fit for Jackson.

Atlas is the kind of knowledgeable, no-nonsense trainer a man like Jackson needs, and the two could see a good degree of success, at least financially. 

Jackson is too old to make any kind of serious title run, but he's got enough of that true grit that he could dig in for any fight and deliver the kind of performance that fans love.

Michael Bisping

Advantages: Dedication, endurance, mobility, combinations, jab, straight right

Areas of Opportunity: Speed, KO power, defensive skills, hooks, body work

Proposed Trainers: Joe Goossen

Chance of Moderate Success: High

Chance of High Success: Moderate

Chance of a Championship: None

In many ways, Michael Bisping is about as close to a pure boxing style as an MMA fighter can get.

He’s got good footwork, mobility, accurate punches and a great one-two and he is very good at avoiding damage, for the most part.

Under the guidance of a man like Joe Goossen, Bisping could see the basics of his game nailed down with precision, giving him the kind of firm foundation he would need to take the next step.

In the end, however, a fighter can only go so high without blinding speed or significant knockout power, and given who he’d be facing off against in a title bout, he really has no chance of a championship.

But he has a great chance to make a lot of money and a lot of fans; two things Bisping loves more than anything.

Can you blame him?

Junior dos Santos

Advantages: KO power, aggression, experience

Areas of Opportunity: Defensive skills, footwork, jab, counter-punching

Proposed Trainers: Teddy Atlas

Chance of Moderate Success: High

Chance of High Success: Slim to moderate

Chance of a Championship: Slim to moderate

Another fighter who puts aggression at a higher value than nearly anything else, Junior dos Santos would be an exciting fighter to watch, but only as long as he really went to school with a trainer like Teddy Atlas and was a devout student.

The simple fact is that dos Santos has a ton of talent and natural abilities that can be weighed against a ton of misconceptions and some bad habits.

Thankfully, he’s never really spent any time getting beat up, so he’s still on the upside of his career as a fighter.

But he would have to work on his defense; no matter how great he and his fans may think his striking is, rushing forward to deliver an uppercut, with no real setup, is a terrible idea and would be akin to giving the fight away to any boxer worth his salt.

Atlas could tighten up the game of dos Santos in all areas and the finished product would enjoy a nice career at heavyweight.

The question is: could dos Santos 2.0 hang with the best heavyweights in the world?

Probably not, simply because there is only so much a fighter can learn per year, and from a fighter perspective, dos Santos may be growing more experienced, but his body is only growing older.

Unless a fighter spends nearly his entire life in pursuit of the singular craft of boxing, it’s nearly impossible for a fighter from a different sport to make the transition without an extensive career in the amateurs.

But should he focus himself totally on boxing, a man like dos Santos could surprise us.

Cain Velasquez

Advantages: Endurance, dedication, passion, youth, experience, heart, relentlessness

Areas of Opportunity: Speed, KO power, defensive skills, footwork, jab, hooks

Proposed Trainers: Roberto Garcia

Chance of Moderate Success: High

Chance of High Success: Moderate

Chance of a Championship: Slim to moderate

One of the greatest attributes a fighter can have is dedication. In this category, Cain Velasquez is a monster, no matter if he’s in the ring or cage.

Velasquez would be one heck of a block of clay for a good trainer to work with, and Roberto Garcia would be the perfect man to make Velasquez the best boxer he could be.

Odds are he’s too small to win a heavyweight belt given the reach disadvantage he’d be facing, not to mention the experience, but Velasquez could turn a lot of heads and make a lot of fans if Garcia could help him develop a scrap-in-a-shoebox style, which would really fit Velasquez perfectly.

And you never know, given his tremendous level of conditioning and his relentlessness, and he could win a title.

Nick and Nate Diaz

Advantages: Endurance, aggression, consistency, decent chin

Areas of Opportunity: Speed, power, defense, footwork

Proposed Trainers: Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain

Chance of Moderate Success: High

Chance of High Success: Moderate

Chance of a Championship: Zero

Men of action are always welcomed into the boxing fold. If anyone fits that mold it would be the 209’s finest: Nick and Nate Diaz.

For a while, Nick Diaz was sparring with Andre Ward, who had good things to say about Diaz, although he took on a more cautionary tone when the subject turned to Nick stepping into the ring with Jeff Lacy: “Nick has good hands, some of the best hands in MMA. But professional boxing is totally different. Totally different.”

Of course, they would have some work to do. The amount they would have to learn about boxing defense cannot be overstated.

They’ve made their career out of fighting face-first. While exciting as hell, it is a recipe for disaster in the boxing ring considering the firepower they would be dealing with.

If anyone could help them turn their ship around, it would be Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain, trainer of both Marquez brothers. A strict and demanding trainer, Beristain is relentless about the basics, and if anyone needs a defensive overhaul from the floor up, it’s the Diaz brothers.

From there on out, they could enjoy a moderate-to-high level of success banking on their MMA roots and their action-or-death style.

Of course, they’d never really have a chance of claiming a title. As good as Beristain is, there is only so much he can do about changing the Diaz brothers, just as there is only so much a sailor can do about harnessing the wind.

In title bouts against men like Chad Dawson, Andre Ward, Mikkel Kessler, Carl Froch, Sergio Martinez, Saul Alvarez, Austin Trout and Floyd Mayweather Jr., the Diaz brothers would simply be in over their head with no chance for victory.

But if anyone could crash and burn and turn it into a testimony of their heart and love of war, it would be them.  

And they could earn many a pretty penny along the way. 

Mark Hunt

Advantages: Chin, KO power, experience

Areas of Opportunity: Speed, defense, footwork, activity and aggression

Proposed Trainers: Ronnie Shields

Chance of Moderate Success: High

Chance of High Success: Moderate

Chance of a Championship: Slim

There is hardly anyone in the world like Mark Hunt, save for perhaps David Tua, and that is equal parts good and bad.

Thankfully, a partnership with Ronnie Shields, a man who has worked with Tua in the past, could be just the thing Hunt would need to make the crossover.

Shields could help Hunt close up those skill gaps while giving him the range his style needs to really cut loose and start starching people; with the KO as God Almighty in the world of boxing, Hunt could see his stock skyrocket.

We don’t know how long he could hang around the sport (given his age), but the time he spent there could be dramatic and lucrative.

Rashad Evans

Advantages: Athletic, KO power, speed, mobility, experienced

Areas of Opportunity: Defensive skills, combinations, the jab, hooks, body work

Proposed Trainers: Bernard Hopkins

Chance of Moderate Success: Very high

Chance of High Success: Moderate

Chance of a Championship: Slim

Rashad Evans is one of those fighters who looks like they can do just about anything once they set their mind to it. Given his explosiveness, he looks to be one of the few MMA fighters who could knock opponents out with one shot.

Should Evans ever decide to do something like this, he would be well served to train with a man like Bernard Hopkins, a trainer who was a fighter first and who knows how to relate to fighters while also remaining faithful to the lesson.

Evans really has all the raw materials a boxing trainer could ask for, save perhaps youth. A man like Hopkins, who is in his own right perhaps the greatest Methuselah the sport of boxing has ever seen, would know how to make the most of the time Evans has remaining. 

Frankie Edgar

Advantages: Speed, footwork, heart, dedication, experience

Areas of Opportunity: KO power, defensive skills, combinations, hooks, body work

Proposed Trainers: Joe Goossen

Chance of Moderate Success: High

Chance of High Success: Moderate

Chance of a Championship: Slim to moderate

Few in the sport of MMA are as good at employing an in-and-out style of fight as Frankie Edgar, and given all of his skills and abilities, he seems the most likely candidate for a successful transition to the sport of boxing.

Edgar possesses qualities you simply cannot teach. Chief among them are heart and durability.

Given his dedication to learning the striking aspect of MMA, one can imagine how well he would do if he applied himself to nothing but boxing, especially under the tutelage of Joe Goossen, a trainer who knows how to develop men who are equal parts boxers and brawlers.

Watching Edgar slip through the ropes and into the professional boxing ring would be a joy to see.

Jose Aldo

Advantages: Speed, KO power, mobility, aggression, dedication

Areas of Opportunity: Defensive skills, jab, overhand right, hooks to the body

Proposed Trainers: Freddy Roach

Chance of Moderate Success: High

Chance of High Success: Moderate

Chance of a Championship: Slim

Of just about anyone on this list, Jose Aldo has perhaps the best chance of making a successful transition within the first year, save perhaps for Frankie Edgar.

He’s young, so he’s got the time to spend rededicating himself to a new sport. He’s got the dedication and the kind of talent you just don’t see every day.

Working with a man like Freddy Roach would see Aldo use his MMA status to secure some good fights against respectable but beatable opposition, and that’s how these things begin.

Afterwards, he’d have a very good chance at bankrolling his UFC legacy into some high-profile fights that would see him tested, probably eventually cracking the top 10.

As for any chances at winning a title, as much as I am in awe of Jose Aldo, he’d likely be facing off against men like Danny Garcia, Lamont Peterson, Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez—in short, men who would rip his head right off his shoulders inside of eight rounds.

Still, he would likely be good enough to earn the kind of big-money paydays that MMA just doesn’t see right now, especially given how aggressive his style of fighting can be.

And everyone loves to see that.  

Anderson Silva

Advantages: Speed, power, mobility, defense

Areas of Opportunity: Defensive skills, counterpunching, hooks, jab, combinations, body work

Proposed Trainers: Freddy Roach

Chance of Moderate Success: High

Chance of High Success: Moderate

Chance of a Championship: None

There is a great deal that has been made of clips of Anderson Silva sparring at Freddy Roach’s Wild Card gym, most of it from fans of MMA who think Silva is as good as striking gets.

While he looks good at times during the footage, he was also spending time with a man who left his hands down many times, who only threw a pawing jab from a distance and who half the time employed a kind of defense that had one arm down around his midsection.

In short, Silva sparred with a man who was brought in to be conservative on one hand while making Silva work on the other.

This is not some new concept. If a trainer is working with a fighter for the first time, he will often put him in against a sparring partner who will lay back enough to encourage offense while coming back just enough to encourage defense as well.

From there, men like Roach have a starting point to begin. 

Silva is the man in the world of MMA, but thus far, his lone excursion into the professional boxing ring was against Julio Cesar de Jesus, who according to boxrec.com possesses a staggering record of 0-1-0.

What we know about Silva is what we have seen in the world of MMA and nothing else matters—especially not one boxing bout against a tubby man with zero experience and an over-glorified sparring session.

Silva has many, many skills to go along with his natural, god-given gifts. But if he decided to make the transition to boxing, he’d have to dedicate all of his time to that and nothing else if he wanted to enjoy even minor success.   

If he went into the sport of boxing to fight a man like Roy Jones Jr., he’d have to dedicate one full year to train nothing but boxing if he even wanted to escape the bout without being knocked out—we’re not talking about winning, we’re talking about losing while saving face.

Still, if Silva did transition to the sport of boxing, giving it all the attention and dedication it is due, he could enjoy some success, as long as he had no intentions of making a run for the title. 

Being the greatest champion in the history of the UFC could set up a few fights of note where he would be matched up against any number of journeymen that could give him a tough fight and experience.

If he decided to go after a title, he’d start running into men who saw him as a mark—a name that could make them some money—and would attack him with no respect for past accomplishments.

They’d be younger, hungrier, stronger, faster, with much better technique and they’d eat him alive. 

If Silva had gone into the world of boxing from the very beginning of his career, I think he could have been a champion, no doubt.

But at his current age, he’d never win a boxing match against any champion, and even against some of the washed-up greats, he’d probably lose. 

But this is boxing, where some of the most enjoyed and celebrated fights have been between two men who never held a belt of note and who were just dying to be noticed.