In news that shocked the wrestling world WWE and UFC have merged under the Endeveor umbrella in a multi-billion dollar deal.
Since the news broke stars from both promotions have gone back and forth on social media. MMA legend Conor McGregor shared an image of him wearing the title of both companies alongside the caption “inevitable”.
Paul Heyman responded by calling him a Roman Reigns wannabe, which McGregor then threatened to break his jaw.
Now, another MMA megastar has thrown their hat into the WWE mix. In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, former UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya spoke about a possible run with WWE but declared he had scores to settle inside the octagon first.
“That’s later on down the track, that’s later on down the track. The Attitude era was my era of wrestling.”
Adesanya is one of MMA’s best strikers and most recognisable stars. His entrance at UFC 276 to the Undertaker’s theme song in front of Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, HHH and Nick Khan went viral.
Several Other UFC Legends Have Made The Jump To WWE
Most recently the Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier appeared on WWE programming as the Special Guest Referee at last year’s Extreme Rules. He officiated the main event Fight Pit match between Seth Rollins and Matt Riddle.
Most notably Ronda Rousey. The Baddest Woman on the Planet was long touted to join the company after her cage fighting career ended and at WrestleMania 34 she made her in-ring debut with Kurt Angle against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Since then she went on to win the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championships and headline WrestleMania 35 with Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch.
Cain Velasquez also made the jump from the octagon to the squared circle for a feud with Brock Lesnar that saw the two former foes fight at Crown Jewel 2019 in Saudi Arabia. Speaking of Lesnar, the Beast famously quit sports entertainment in favour of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Lesnar debuted for Dana White’s promotion in 2008 and won the Heavyweight Championship that same year.
CM Punk also swapped wrestling for fighting in 2016 but to less favourable results.
H/T Fightful