WWE superstars Dave ‘Batista’ Bautista and MVP have recently been training BJJ alongside UFC veteran and Rob Kahn black belt Matt Arroyo. The world of professional wrestling and the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu have been linked for quite some time and athletes that have plied their trade inside the WWE ring have often had some training on the mats as well. In fact, recent WWE acquisition Giovanna Eburneo is actually a BJJ black belt and as the years go on there will likely be a fair few more to join her.
Of course, the most famous example of someone being experienced in both staged fights and competitive grappling matches is undoubtedly Ronda Rousey. She reached the very highest point of professional MMA as the inaugural UFC women’s Bantamweight world champion, earned a bronze medal as a Judoka in the 2008 Olympic games, and she has embarked upon a successful career as a WWE wrestler. Both Dave ‘Batista’ Bautista and MVP, also known as Montel Vontavious Porter and real name Hassin Hamin Assad, are actually pretty well-experienced in BJJ in their own right as well.
Bautista is a purple belt in BJJ while Assad is actually a brown belt in BJJ himself. Both men have been training in the sport for a long time and have even competed, with Assad actually winning the IBJJF Masters world championship as a purple belt shortly before he was promoted to brown. Bautista on the other hand was promoted to purple belt by Cesar Gracie relatively recently and has competed in professional MMA back in 2012, when he defeated Vince Lucero by knockout in the very first round.
The photo of WWE superstars Dave ‘Batista’ Bautista and MVP training BJJ with Matt Arroyo was uploaded to the official Instagram account of MVP:
