Former NFL player and professional wrestling mega-star Bill Goldberg stopped by the It's Time podcast with Bruce Buffer this week to discuss, among other things, his own possible foray into the world of pro fighting. Golberg, who has trained Muay Thai kickboxing for years, explained how, even though wrestlers take hard bumps and stiff shots in the squared circle, that is a whole different beast than competitive fighting.
Speaking of some big shots former UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar took recently during the WWE's marquee event, Wrestlemania, Goldberg made sure to give real fighters their due. "He knew it was coming, so it makes it easier, even if you do get drilled," he explained.
With that respect for fighting in mind, Goldberg had always stayed away from competing in MMA. Though he's a big fan of MMA, the middle-aged athlete was honest in explaining the various reasons why such a move for him wouldn't be smart.
"Unlike a 'CM Punk,' I don't have a background in ground fighting," Goldberg explained.
"I have never spent the time to learn, and do believe at an [advanced] age, and my joints the way that they are, it's probably not the most conducive training to me feeling...good (laughs). I'm a realist. I love the ground game, but I'm not a student of it. So, I would be more behind the 8-ball than anyone that would be realistically entering an MMA career."
However, Goldberg is in the process of training to give professional kickboxing a try in the Glory organization. "As far as the stand-up career is concerned," he explained, "it's something that I studied for a number of years."
Given that Goldberg has actually trained stand-up striking, he thinks it could be possible for him to viably fight in a kickboxing bout. However, he went out of his way to make known that he respects the real, long-time kickboxers who have toiled for years without getting much attention.
If he fights, Goldberg says he will be doing so in large part to help get those guys more attention, and better renumeration. "They offered me a fight. Now, am I going to fight two months after they speak about it and people hear about it? Absolutely not. That's like cutting your nose off to spite yourself," he detailed.
"I'm going to do something similar to what 'Punk' is doing. I'm going to make sure that I'm prepared.
"I'm someone who wants to stick his nose into something that he has a huge passion for. Let's get that to the purists in case they think I have an ulterior motive, because I do not. I just do it to help the guys...who have done this for the majority of their lives for no return."
Hear the full interview with Bill Goldberg above!
