Update On WWE Bringing In UFC Fighters Following TKO Launch

WWE/UFC

On Tuesday September 12, TKO Group Holdings was founded, bringing WWE and UFC officially under the same umbrella.

To push the merger, TKO released an official video showcasing WWE and UFC and the ‘premium sports, entertainment and media company’ aspect of the group.

UFC COO, Lawrence Epstein, who said that the goal of TKO was to get to a point where “every UFC fan is a WWE fan” and “every WWE fan is a UFC fan” – Dana White responded to that by calling it “one of the dumbest statements of all-time”.

However, Dave Meltzer has spoken about the potential for crossover between talent rather than fans.

On Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer said there had been “some talk” that UFC fighter who are “past their fighting prime” could end up in WWE if they have the personality.

He said:

“UFC’s a very different animal than WWE when it comes to older talent because older talent in pro-wrestling can still be marketable, as long as they can talk and as long as you push them.

“Whereas in fighting, you have to be able to beat guys in fights.

“There was some talk of the idea that some guys, not everyone obviously, but some people with good personalities in UFC that may be past their fighting prime could then go to WWE.

“Of course it’s possible, but with WWE, so much of what they’re trying to do is get guys in their early 20s and college athletes, as opposed to… I mean, look, if Conor McGregor wanted to do it, but Conor McGregor’s got so much money, he’s not gonna do WWE except for like a one-shot thing.

“Every now and then there might be like a Matt Riddle, or a Tom Lawlor for that matter, a guy who did UFC for a while and then got into pro-wrestling, who always wanted to be in pro-wrestling at other points.

“So those guys, that could happen. But I don’t think that’s gonna be a regular thing, because there’s people going like, ‘Oh it’s gonna be like Inoki’, and it’s not gonna be.”

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Antonio Inoki was a proponent of mixed martial arts and would face Muhammad Ali in June 1976 in a fight that would end in a draw.

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• TKO
• ufc
• wwe

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