Josh Rafferty knows a thing or two about pro wrestling and MMA crossover, he's experienced it himself for over a decade.
Now known as the man responsible for helping countless pro wrestlers learn MMA. Rafferty himself had an MMA career, perhaps best known as a contestant on the first season of the Ultimate Fighter. Initially, he hoped to have a pro wrestling run of his own, and thinks more fighters could.
"I'm surprised we're not seeing more MMA guys going to wrestling instead of vice versa. There used to be all kinds of threads on the internet making fun of me for doing it. Now it's the cool thing to do, which is good," said Rafferty, citing Andrei Arlovski and Kimo as names he thought stood a good chance moving over to wrestling in previous years.
We're starting to see that happen more often. There are countless former MMA fighters on WWE's payroll, and Bloodsport has become one of WrestleMania week's top attractions outside of WWE. With it's knockout and submission only finishes, and no ropes, Rafferty seemed to glow when talking to Fightful's James Lynch.
"It's really cool. I love the concept. That's what fun about pro wrestling. It can be different things. You can explore lots of avenues. It sort of reminds me of BattleArts in the 1990s. It was a cool organization. It's perfect for Josh, he doesn't get enough credit for what he's done in pro wrestling. He has a vast knowledge of pro wrestling. I would love to do Bloodsport if they do it again. Josh, if you're watching, I'd love to do it. I know Phil Baroni did it. I love that Frank Mir did it, and Dan Severn. I've had two neck surgeries, so that might be better than doing regular pro wrestling. Sometimes it's more violent than an MMA fight. I'd love to do something like that," said Rafferty.
You can see Lynch's full interview with Rafferty above.
