Dave Bautista MMA

Former WWE performer Dave Bautista, who will be making his debut in mixed martial arts this Saturday in Providence, Rhode Island against an unannounced opponent, explained why he crossed over to the profession in an interview with MMAJunkie.com.

"I know some people have a hard time understanding it. I'm obviously never going to make the money that I made in the WWE, and it's not like I think I'm going to go become UFC champion," said Bautista. "I just want the experience. I don't have any ulterior motive. I just want to do it because I love it so much."

With his background in professional wrestling, some mixed martial arts enthusiasts will dismiss his crossover attempt. The former WWE Champion says he is in no hurry to win them over.

"For people like that, I don't think it would matter what I might say," Bautista said. "I'm doing this for personal reasons. People are going to support me or they're not. I was talking to 'King' Mo [Lawal] not long ago, since he's going into professional wrestling for the first time, and that's the first thing he told me was, don't listen to the haters, because they're going to hate no matter what."

I can think of someone else he should be talking to lol