The Quade Cooper circus seems to have now settled on a February cruiser weight boxing fight, with the rest of his future still up in the air.
But is Australia’s most mercurial of sportsman selling himself short by settling in the boxing world? Could the bad boy of rugby in fact make the switch to the fastest growing sport in the world, MMA?
Could Cooper wind up with a larger international profile and, in return, a deeper hip pocket if he decided to instead step into the octagon?
Cooper stands at 6 foot 1 and currently weighs in at 92kgs, or 203 pounds, putting him roughly in the middleweight division once he cuts for weigh in. Ideally though, he could drop some of the excess muscle mass and wind up a fairly decent sized welterweight.
Combine that with his rat’s tail and arm of tats and Cooper is beginning to look more and more at home in the octagon.
But can he actually fight?
Well, straight off the bat Cooper is an amazing physical specimen and yes, theoretically he could make it in MMA.
He is agile, has speed to burn and on his day he has one of the finest, aggressive sporting brains in the country.
For all his faults and flaws, Anthony Mundine has clearly shown us that this kind of skill set can transfer over to combat sports in the boxing ring.
Cooper’s kicking and stepping ability suggest strong lower body coordination, which could translate into not just stand-up kicking but also help the development of a strong jujitsu game.
Finally, as a rugby player Cooper would already poses some basics in wrestling, an indisputable cornerstone of any MMA fighter’s arsenal.
In a broader sense, if Australia’s most controversial sportsman was to move to the octagon, it would be a coming of age event for the sport in this country, exposing MMA to the mainstream sports media in a way it has never done before.
Unfortunately though, while Cooper theoretically may have the skills and physique to make the switch, it would have to be a far longer term plan than the hit and giggle outing February’s boxing match is shaping up to be.
Boxing’s far more focused skill set lends itself to the quick transition Cooper will be looking at, far more than the much broader arsenal of a mixed martial artist.
Furthermore Cooper’s large profile across Australia and New Zealand would count for little if he wanted to focus on fighting in the UFC.
While he might end up earning more on the global stage there than in the boxing ring, he would have to reach it fighting on his merits, not relying his current fame.
Honestly, a move to MMA would come totally out of the blue for Cooper, who will most likely cruise through February’s fight and then take a cushy, cashed-up contract with a European rugby club before Australian rugby comes to its senses or an NRL side squeezes him under their salary cap.
But with Cooper, a sportsman who made his name from taking the unconventional option, you can never quite say never.
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