There was a time when the UFC was frowned upon as a jungle of sick, rabid, and bloodthirsty savages hellbent on killing each other inside a cage. However, fast forward to 2025 and promotion has completed thirty years of excellence. Dana White’s Magnum opus has now become synonymous with the term MMA and has solidified its place within the mainstream. Besides the financial growth of the company, there’s been a growth in its fan base as well, and one of those fans includes the former NBA champion and Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal.

O’Neal developed an interest in martial at the turn of the 21st century, and guess what? He even trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and kickboxing. As expected, the Lakers legend loves the UFC and has been seen attending several events on somewhat of a regular basis. Through the years of watching UFC and other MMA fighters, ‘Shaq’ has made up his mind about who sits on his idea of Mount Rushmore. However, he has two variants, with the first one being the fighters of the pioneering generation.

The old era includes those fighters who helped put the UFC on the map, including the legendary rivals Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell, alongside Tim Sylvia and the surprise addition of Wesley Correira. “Old school – Cabbage, Tim Sylvia, Tito, and… Chuck Liddell,” Shaquille O’Neil told The Schmo. But when it comes to the modern crop, there were a few obvious picks, and if you’ve guessed it already, yes, Conor McGregor‘s in there, along with the only 2-time MW champ, Israel Adesanya, the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov and former WWE and UFC champion, Brock Lesnar.

“The new one – Stylebender, Conor, Khabib, and then, Brock Lesnar,” Shaquille O’Neal added. Well, some fans might be surprised by the exclusion of Georges-St. Pierre and Jon Jones, who, for many, including Dana White, is the best to ever do it. But It seems like ‘Shaq’, being the long-time MMA fan that he is, kept his list honest.

Besides being a fan of MMA, Shaquille O’Neal really considered stepping inside the Octagon himself. This revelation was made by none other than the UFC boss himself, so let’s take a look at that front.

Dana White weighs in on Shaquille O’Neal’s desire to enter the Octagon

As we’ve mentioned already, Shaquille O’Neal had trained in martial arts in the past. At one point, according to Dana White, he was itching for a chance to fight in the UFC and kept asking the CEO for a matchup. “This maniac used to call me all the time: ‘I’m telling you, Dana. I’m gonna fight. I’m gonna fight in the UFC. I’m training,'” Dana White stated on Shaq’s YouTube podcast. “He would text me all the time saying he wanted to [fight].”

But how did it all start for Shaquille O’Neal? Well, some fans would believe that his ‘old’ Mount Rushmore fighters might have played a part in it, but that couldn’t be far from the truth. In fact, the 7-foot-11-inch NBA legend fell in love with MMA when he saw Vitor Belfort for the first time in action in his pro debut back in 1996. “I was introduced to MMA by Vitor Belfort,” ‘Shaq’ told ESPN.

What’s interesting is that Belfort was a huge fan of O’Neal as well, so it seems like both athletes have a lot of respect for each other. Well, Shaquille O’Neal may have never got his chance to fight in the UFC, but he always gets front-row seats to witness the action during PPVs. Will he be there at UFC 312? That remains to be seen.