When it comes to boxers that have competed in MMA, many have tried and few have been successful. Even several high level championship level boxers have tested their mettle in the MMA cage or ring – also with varying success.
A lot of their success obviously depends on how they are training for MMA but also what kind of style they have in boxing also plays a factor.
Defensive minded fighters like James Toney or Floyd Mayweather, while they are certainly geniuses in boxing, might not have the best style for MMA.
It is the boxers with other intangibles that have the best chances – highly athletic championship level fighters like Roy Jones Jr or Mike Tyson could’ve stood a good chance but they never gave it a shot.
The following boxing champions had a lot to lose fighting in MMA but they took a chance and though not all were successful at it, they still deserve some credit for putting it on the line.
5) Ricardo Mayorga
Mayorga was a highly successful boxer, having held the WBA (Super), WBC, Ring magazine, and lineal welterweight titles in 2003, as well as the WBC super welterweight title from 2005 to 2006. He didn’t have much success in MMA however as his MMA record is 0-3 with 1 no contest due to an illegal knee.
4) James Toney
Toney was most certainly a genius in the boxing ring, but as previously stated his style might not have been the best suited for MMA. Though he was probably one of the most talented boxers to fight in MMA, he ended up only fighting once at UFC 118 where he quickly lost to Randy Couture without landing a single punch.
3) Butterbean
Eric Esch, also known as Butterbean, actually had a pretty successful MMA career compared to the other champions on this list. Butterbean held the World Athletic Association (WAA) heavyweight and IBA super heavyweight championship in boxing before moving onto MMA where he has a 17-10-1 record with wins over tough guys like James Thompson and Cabbage Correira. He also fought in PRIDE FC where he has a winning record including 1 win by submission.
2) Muhammad Ali
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1) Holly Holm
Holly Holm is by far the champion who found the most success in MMA. Though compared to others on this list, her competition in boxing wasn’t the same as Ali’s or Toney’s, she still was a multiple-time world champion, defending her titles 18 times in three weight classes, and was a two-time Ring magazine fighter of the year. Holm made history when she became the first person to win major championships in both boxing in MMA when she brutally knocked out Ronda Rousey at UFC 193.
