Cody Rhodes' claims his UFC dream was squashed by wife, wants "freebie" opponent if he ever fights

Cody Rhodes recently took part in an ESPN interview, during which he revealed a past desire to fight in the UFC. Unfortunately, his wife Brandi Rhodes was not nearly as keen as he was to see him step inside the octagon. According to the WWE Superstar, the conversation with his wife took place two years ago.

Besides claiming that his desire to compete in the UFC was primarily motivated by financial gain, Rhodes was also transparent about his inexperience with fighting, despite having wrestled in high school and even once having collegiate aspirations.

"I told my wife I wanted to do one fight. I told her this two years ago, and this was when, I think, I was looking for some sort of massive financial windfall. I don't know what it was, but I told her I wanted to do one fight and she absolutely let me know that would not be happening. So, unless you can convince her, it's not going to happen."

When asked who he would like to face should his wife ever clear him for an octagon debut, Rhodes was open about his desire for a woeful opponent.

"Oh, give me the worst guy possible. Please do not... Just, like, give me a freebie up front."

Check out Cody Rhodes' comments below (10:58):

Curiously, 'The American Nightmare' appears to be headed for a program with CM Punk, who many will remember previously competed in the UFC between 2016 and 2018. Unfortunately, Punk's brief venture into mixed martial arts was unsuccessful, as he first suffered a crushing TKO loss to Mickey Gall.

His second and final UFC fight was initially ruled a unanimous decision loss to Mike Jackson. However, the result was overturned after the latter tested positive for marijuana, and the bout was thereafter ruled a no-contest.

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How many pro wrestlers like Cody Rhodes have shown an interest in MMA?

A UFC-WWE crossover has become a hot topic as of late, largely due to both promotions being divisions under TKO Group Holdings. Cody Rhodes, in addition to CM Punk, makes up a list of professional wrestlers with an interest in MMA. Brock Lesnar remains the most successful of the group.

'The Beast' is notable for his successful UFC heavyweight championship reign. Conversely, Cain Velasquez, a former UFC heavyweight champion, made the transition to pro-wrestling when he signed with WWE back in 2019. Additionally, both Kurt Angle and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson have flirted with MMA in the past.

Angle turned down a UFC contract several times, while Johnson claims to have once considered a career in PRIDE.