What does a man with 28,596 points in his NBA career and a legacy as one of the all time best big men do after he retires? It looks like the answer to that question may be “become an ambassador for the UFC.” MMA Fighting has the info about a possible future relationship with Shaquille O’Neal from UFC President Dana White’s recent ESPN appearance:
“Shaq loves it,” White said on ESPN’s First Take program. “Shaq’s been training for a long time, and actually a week before he retired, Shaq called me and said he wanted to be involved in the UFC somehow. He’s always been a good friend to us, and I’m sure you’re going to see Shaq around the UFC a lot.”
White went on to mention that Shaq helped launch season one of The Ultimate Fighter and I’m sure many fans remember seeing O’Neal cageside at many events.
Having a very media friendly, extremely recognizable major star from an established sport hanging around the UFC as an ambassador could serve to make the sport more palatable to certain people. It isn’t some ultimate solution to becoming the biggest sport in the world, but there certainly is some value in having a guy like Shaq who can go on ESPN or wherever and talk about upcoming cards in an entertaining way.