Though John Cena respects what UFC has accomplished within the realm of MMA, he tells USA Today that UFC 115–the first of the company’s events he watched in full–did nothing for him.
Cena, who says “no way” (for any amount of money) to the idea of crossing over into mixed martial arts, notes that he watched UFC 115 and “and it just did nothing for me.”
He nonetheless is complimentary of the strides mixed martial arts has made as a sport in recent years.
Says Cena, “I appreciate what they’ve done business-wise. They continue to grow. It’s very good to watch the progression of that sport because it reminds me of a then-young WWF, the NFL as they matured, the merger between the NBA and the ABA. They are at that juncture where they are still Wild West. They’re still in-your face. But they’ve made the steps they need to do grow.”