Shaquille O’Neal has tethered himself to the realm of combat sports over the years. The love affair began many decades ago when Shaq was in training camp with the Lakers in Hawaii and almost came to blows with MMA fighter, Vitor Belfort. Fast-forward to present day and he’s consistently made his presence felt at any event featuring ‘fisticuffs’, with BYB Extreme Fight Series being one of them.
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Dada 5000 had a conversation with Susan Cingari on the Bare Knuckle News YouTube channel. As the conversation about the weekly updates and change in rankings was going on, the two went on to discuss the NBA legend’s interest in the sport, leading Dada to reveal O’Neal ‘charges a lot’ to attend these events.
“He’s a big fan of bare-knuckle fighting, he’s a big fan of Dada 5000 and Dog Fight. And whenever he comes into town, he reaches out, especially when we have a show. He comes out, he charges a lot.”
This of course does not mean Shaq charges BYB money to make appearances. Dada meant the Lakers legend charges a lot in terms of the time and effort he puts into showing love where its due. Shaq being as busy as he is, it’s endearing to see him give flowers where they’re due.
Dada also went on to add, “But he comes out and he deal with those that deal with him on these levels. He’s a fight fan and he loves the art. It’s a treat to have him in attendance… Just to see the fans light up and pull out their camera phones. That just adds another notch underneath the build of BYB Extreme.”
Shaq is a huge fan of bare-knuckle fighting. In fact, the Lakers legend was in attendance at such an event a mere three weeks ago.
According to USAToday, the four-time NBA champion had displayed an immense interest in the sport and called it the future of fighting as well.
“These are the greatest, toughest athletes in the world. The fact that they’re not using gloves makes them the toughest athletes in the world. I think this is the future of fighting.”
Diesel got so hooked that he was in talks with David Feldman (Founder) about investing in the bare-knuckle organization back in 2021.
Shaq’s love for contact sports
O’Neal quickly made the transition from being an NBA player to being an analyst for the NBA after he finally hung up his sneakers. But lately, The Big Aristotle has been making his presence felt in the world of contact sports, specifically wrestling, boxing, MMA, and more.
Shaq can often be spotted at UFC matches or making WWE appearances now and then. During an interview with ESPN MMA, O’Neal expressed his love for the sport.
“MMA is something that has kept my heart rate up. It was something I was very interested in…You talk about athletes, MMA athletes are some of the best athletes on the planet.”
Being a former athlete himself, Shaq expressed his love and respect for MMA fighters, labeling them as some of the best athletes in the world. He also dove into meeting Dana White, the founder of UFC for the first time.
“I met Dana White and me and Dana White are friends. And I’m able to go to the training facility and watch all the specimens. So, it’s a great thing for me.”
The former NBA star even trained a bit to spar with someone, which just goes to show the level of interest and love Shaq has for the sport.
