Top UFC Fighters That Are Active Gamers
MMA fighting, especially when you’re competing in the UFC, is a grueling and challenging task. With all the training, dieting, and combat that fighters must endure, many look for a healthy avenue to relax and wind down.
Many fighters, both current and former competitors, have turned to video gaming as their avenue of escape and sanctuary. In fact, there’s a lot of cross-over between hard-core gaming and MMA, and over the years, many fighters from various promotions have paid homage to their favorite games in their attire and walk-out music.
Here’s a look at some UFC fighters who are active gamers.
Shayna Baszler
Shayna Baszler was one of the UFC’s pioneering women, alongside Ronda Rousey. Although not currently competing in the octagon, Shayna has transitioned into a successful career in pro wrestling for the WWE, where she was one of the most dominant and exciting champions in NXT.
In her free time, Shayna is known to be a huge gamer and regularly features for the gaming channel UpUp DownDown, which fellow WWE wrestler Xavier Woods hosts. Here she plays games against fellow stars. She plays a whole variety of games, too, including fighting games and MMORPGs such as Dota 2.
If you’re a fan of Dota 2, you can watch Shayna play it on her Twitch channel. Or, if you want to want to watch more advanced players, you can watch esports tournaments and place bets. To bet with bitcoin go to this page to increase your enjoyment.
Sean O’Malley
Sean is a current UFC fighter that has his own live streaming channel. For O’Malley, gaming has been a huge part of his upbringing, and he is quoted as saying that he started playing games when he was three or four years old.
O’Malley started as a Nintendo fan, having played the likes of Zelda, Mario, and Donkey Kong. However, in the modern-day, his tastes have matured to where he’s a big fan of Call of Duty.
He’s been known to showcase his impressive PC gaming set-up, sure to make many fans envious.
Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya is a big name in UFC, having held the middleweight championship. Much like other fighters, Israel is a massive gamer and actually puts some of his influences into his fighting technique.
Known to be a prolific striker, Israel has incorporated moves that have been made popular in fighting games and anime. He likes gaming as he says that it teaches you to stay composed when challenged and that it also teaches you how to handle losses.
He’s also used games in an attempt to improve his hand-eye coordination, using interesting games like DJ here to help.
Conclusion
UFC fighters love gaming, and many more could have made this list. Gaming, for some, is a form of entertainment that can be used to help fighters escape from the hardship of training, but for others, it can be a tool that can help them fine-tune their mental and physical skills.
What is for sure is that gaming will continue to be a big part of MMA in the future and that its popularity in the sport isn’t slowing down.
