Cody Rhodes has opened up about once considering an MMA career despite his professional wrestling background. The WWE Superstar also revealed how Brandi Rhodes reacted when he suggested training for the fighting sport.
Cody Rhodes thought about trying MMA once, and Brandi Rhodes shot the idea down. The former WWE Champion talked about it on Double Coverage, saying he never moved past the thinking stage despite a strong wrestling background and some Brazilian jiu-jitsu experience. He did bring it up with Brandi, though, and got a firm rejection. The American Nightmare also said the sport looked very different when he was growing up. Rhodes had already tried out combat sports before he became a full-time pro wrestler.
Rhodes attended Lassiter High School in Marietta, Georgia.
Sophomore Year: Placed sixth in the state in the 171 lb (78 kg) weight class.
Junior Year (2003): Won the Georgia State Tournament Championship in the 189 lb (86 kg) division.
Senior Year (2004): Repeated as the undefeated Georgia state champion.
He finished his high school career with an astonishing 101 wins and only 2 losses, reportedly only being taken down four times during that entire span.
His dominant run caught the attention of elite collegiate programs, most notably drawing serious recruitment interest from Penn State University. While he initially planned to wrestle at the collegiate level, Rhodes chose a different path after graduating in 2004.
He briefly moved to Los Angeles to study at the Howard Fine Acting School before officially entering the family business, signing a WWE developmental contract in 2006.
Though he also casually trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu during his youth, Rhodes has noted that his foundational discipline was strict American folkstyle wrestling. He has openly discussed how folkstyle relies on controlling an opponent rather than the high-amplitude slams of freestyle wrestling or the striking and submissions of mixed martial arts, which is why he ultimately viewed his MMA aspirations as nothing more than a passing thought.
Didn’t know of his wrestling background. But I guess he made the right choice.