David Cash, a 47-year-old retired pro wrestler better known as Kid Kash, lasted only 39 seconds on Saturday night in his first MMA encounter in years.
Cash faced Lindsey Jones of Macon, Ga., in a welterweight fight at the Nashville Fairgrounds, an arena he performed in as a pro wrestler with regularity more then a decade ago. Jones overwhelmed him with one right uppercut after another that Cash was unable to defend, before Cash went down and the fight was stopped.
Kid Kash went from pro wrestling to #MMA at #ValorFights38.
— FloCombat (@FloCombat) November 6, 2016
It didn't end well. pic.twitter.com/EJSEsVgU4f
The bout, promoted by Valor Fights, was streamed live by FloCombat.
Earlier in the week, to promote the fight, Cash had challenged CM Punk, a better-known pro wrestler who lost his UFC debut on Sept. 10 in Cleveland to Mickey Gall via first-round stoppage.
Cash retired as a pro wrestler in December. He had done MMA in the past. His listed record was 0-1, losing a fight via decision in Frankfort, Ky., in 2008, but had claimed to have a 7-3 record in mostly unsanctioned fights. Jones, who was much younger and quicker, was making his pro debut.
Cash said that fighting at his age was a challenge.
"I had a lengthy wrestling career, and I did pretty good while I was wrestling," he said. "But right now, I've had enough of that. But I still have the drive to compete. I'm a competitor. I like to drive myself harder than probably anyone you know, and I always want to see how far I can possibly take myself."
Cash, a protege as a pro wrestler of Ricky Morton, a major star of the '80s, held the WWE cruiserweight championship a decade ago, after first making his name in ECW, where he performed from 1996 to 2001. He used the name Davey Morton and David Jericho, before becoming Kid Kash in 1999, because of his resemblance to Kid Rock. He also wrestled for TNA from 2002 to 2005, at the time the organization ran weekly shows at the Nashville Fairgrounds.