WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg appeared on an episode of The Ariel Helwani Show to talk about several topics, including whether he ever seriously thought about crossing over into MMA.
Goldberg said, “I’ve always kind of dabbled in the thought that I could have crossed over. GLORY and I were closer than any promotion, of me doing something, like an exhibition. I’ll be honest. My abilities fall so short in what my expectation for myself would be as an outcome in a sport like that.”
On what prevented him from getting into MMA:
“My injuries prevent me. It’s hard for me to throw a right hand without breaking my hand or blowing my shoulder out. I’m not worried about getting hurt by other people. I’m worried about what’s going to happen to my body once I connect. I was never a true wrestler, so I don’t have that ground game, even though I was the co-owner of the largest MMA gym back in the early 90s.”
On why he wouldn’t do it just for the sake of money:
“To do a crossover like that, I wasn’t around when the Mike Tyson money was around to make him lower to the point of getting in the ring with Jake Paul. For the amount of money he did, I don’t blame him. I don’t think that type of money was around, or I might have considered it. I always have such a high expectation of myself and if I don’t feel as though I’m prepared, I’m not going to take that chance in front of national television just for the sake of money and doing it.”
You can check out the complete podcast in the video below.
(H/T to Fightful for transcribing the above quotes)
