Shaquille O’Neal is a massive human being. This is the first thing that comes to mind whenever his name is mentioned, but every now and then, people tend to forget, courtesy of his likable personality. And then you see him next to Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Such was the case last night, as the Big Diesel attended the UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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Before the event, Shaq ran into his good friend, Johnson, on the red carpet. The Rock was there with Emily Blunt, his costar in the upcoming A24 UFC Film The Smashing Machine.
Like Shaq, The Rock is also known to be a physical specimen. Our biggest action movie star since Arnold Schwarzenegger, Johnson is the perfect fit to play the demigod Maui in Moana, and tower over Vin Diesel in the Fast and Furious films but next to Shaq, he looked positively puny, like Kevin Hart looks next to him.
The Rock has appeared in five movies with Hart, one of the most diminutive people in Hollywood. That size disparity is often a source of humor in their movies, but now, the shoe was on the other foot.
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NBA fans roasted Johnson for finally walking a mile in Hart’s shoes, with one saying, “The Rock feeling like Kevin Hart for once.” Johnson even poked fun at himself on Shaq’s Instagram post.
Shaq had a great time at the event, sneaking up at one point on former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. “The Last Stylebender,” as Adesanya is known, was there to be honored for his Hall of Fame fight with Kelvin Gastelum for the interim middleweight belt at UFC 236; a hard-fought 5-round battle, he won by unanimous decision.
Other fighters honored last night included future Hall of Famer Amanda Nunes and the legendary Robbie Lawler, who were both inducted into the Modern Wing (fighters that debuted after 2000).
Former champions Vitor Belfort and Mark Kerr were inducted into the Pioneer Wing, while fan favorite Charles ‘Do Bronx’ Oliveira received the Forrest Griffin Community Award.
The Rock, who has long been associated with the UFC, is currently playing former UFC heavyweight champion Kerr in A24’s Benny Safdie-directed The Smashing Machine.
Featuring alongside the Oscar-nominated Emily Blunt, Johnson has notably been praised for looking almost unrecognizable in what is expected to be the performance of a lifetime from the WWE star.
This one looks to be a lot different than the Rock’s normal family-friendly fare, as it’s a hard-hitting biopic on one of the UFC’s most legendary, yet also most troubled, stars. In other words, we probably shouldn’t expect to see Kevin Hart make an appearance.
