UFC President Dana White said that he is certainly open to UFC stars making appearances in the WWE wrestling ring since the two companies merged under TKO Group Holdings, Inc. in 2023.
White spoke at a press conference following a UFC fight night in St. Louis, Missouri, where he was asked whether he was okay with his fighters competing or appearing in WWE pay-per-views.
‘You remember Gold Dust? Probably something like that. As long as I get to paint my face.’
“Some of the fighters who fight here, you know, have always dreamed about doing a WWE match or whatever it is, and yeah, I don’t have a problem with that,” he revealed.
“I mean I didn’t have a problem with that when Vince [McMahon] was consistently f***ing me for no reason, and you know now that’s not the case anymore. Obviously, I would absolutely do it,” White said, speaking of the former WWE chairman.
A reporter pointed out that there have been several MMA and WWE crossovers, namely wrestlers named Bobby Lashley and Jake Hager. Lashley, who was a professional wrestler first, went 15-2 in MMA fighting from 2006-2018 but never in the UFC.
The same goes for Hager, who fought four times between 2019-2020, going 3-0 with a no-contest. His last fight was at 38 years old.
As for former UFC fighters, both Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey enjoyed time in both sports. While Rousey fully joined the WWE after retiring, Lesnar is the only fighter to compete at the highest level possible while being fully immersed in both sports.
Lesnar won at least 10 world championships in the WWE and also won the UFC heavyweight championship in 2008 and defended it twice.
Reporters brought to White’s attention however, that a current heavyweight fighter was expressing interest in the WWE.
“We were talking to Derrick Lewis this week and he had mentioned that he might have been in talks with WWE,” a reporter told the UFC president.
“I didn’t know that, but I would do anything for Derrick Lewis. I really like Derrick Lewis,” White replied.
Lewis said later at the same press conference that he had plans to visit WWE facilities in Orlando, Florida, in the coming weeks.
“I wouldn’t stop here at UFC, but I would like to dibble dabble in WWE,” Lewis told reporters.
When asked what his wrestling attire might be, he likened himself to Dustin Rhodes’ character Goldust.
“It’s probably going to be — you remember Goldust? Probably something like that. As long as I get to paint my face so people don’t really know it’s me … I’m going to be a whole freak out there and be a little sassy with it,” the heavyweight added.
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Dana white, Ufc, Wwe, Ronda rousey, Brock lesnar, Derrick lewis, Fearless, Sports