The big man from the Orlando Magic and L.A. Lakers is well known in the sporting world for his dominance on the court, his light-hearted film career, and his sense of humour. In the NBA Shquille O'Neal holds four NBA championships. Outside of that, he has moonlighted as a recording artist, actor, and basketball analyst on ESPN. Yet what many may not know is that Shaq is a huge (literally, actually) fan of mixed martial arts, and trains himself. He has gone so far as hosting a UFC press conference at his house (his place is pretty spacious - note to self, party at Shaq's!), and even talked about taking a professional fight. Names of possible opponents have included the hulking kickboxer Hong-man Choi, and a certain former major league baseball player who we'll discuss later. However, these fights never came to fruition. So what you have in Shaq in is a 7 foot 1, 325 pound world class athlete who legitimately knows how to fight, and sometimes trains with the likes of Nate Diz (not to mention the photo op above with UFC heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum). You wouldn't want to get him mad - but then Shaq seems like the happiest guy on the planet.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
