British cruiserweight champ David Haye is talking about retiring from boxing at age 30 in 2010 and taking up MMA. Haye is no joke (I'm counting on Brent to correct me if I'm wrong here). He holds the WBA, WBC and WBO world cruiserweight titles.
Sounds like he's got the right attitude about approaching MMA:
Believe it or not, I come from a martial arts background, my father was a karate teacher, so I've got good legs. I've done judo, so I know what I'm doing. I train at a gym called the Third Space in Piccadilly which has a jiu-jitsu dojo and I get in there from time to time and have a roll around with the guys. They tell me I'm at a decent level, if I put some focus into it and put some time and effort into it... I'm a natural athlete, I can do anything that I want to do and I think that it would be definitely worth my while getting in to do it.
It's just another challenge, I like to set myself goals and tasks and definitely fighting for the UFC heavyweight championship would be a real big thing for me and I'd do whatever was required to get that win. I'm a fighter, through and through - any kind of competition. I'd be a big underdog, and I'd actually like that. I like people writing me off.
I used to fight in the street, I used to be a street fighter, so I'm not a traditional boxer, I've done martial arts since the age of three. I might surprise a few people with my ground game.
His demolition of Enzo Maccarinelli is below.
David Haye v Enzo Maccarinelli