Nick Khan on UFC Fighters Pivoting to WWE Following TKO Group Merger
The WWE President thinks more UFC fighters could pivot to wrestling after retiring from MMA.
WWE has seen its fair share of MMA stars make the transition to pro wrestling, including Ronda Rousey, Shayna Baszler and Matt Riddle. Even the opposite has proven to be a success as Brock Lesnar held the UFC Heavyweight Championship after his initial run with WWE and former WWE Champion Bobby Lashley had a six-fight winning streak in Bellator and a 15-2 professional record in between his WWE runs. The WWE and UFC now find themselves merged into a single company, TKO Group, under the Endeavor corporate umbrella as of Tuesday morning. And while executives from both promotions have claimed there won't be much direct crossover, WWE President Nick Khan floated the idea of fighters making the transition to sports entertainment in a new interview with ESPN.
"UFC fighters are gonna stay focused on the UFC and WWE superstars obviously do something different in our ring," Khan said. "... but you also see in the UFC people with big personalities who, once their UFC run is done, once the UFC and the fighter says, 'Hey, maybe now's the time to call it a day,' could those people have a longer life at WWE, an extended life with TKO? We think so."
Vince McMahon Comments on WWE's Merger
Fresh off making last-minute changes to this week's Monday Night Raw, Vince McMahon was present on Wall Street on Tuesday morning for the celebration of the merger alongside other TKO Group executives. He also gave a statement regarding the merger.
"This is the culmination of a decades-long partnership between Endeavor and WWE across strategic initiatives including talent representation and media rights. Given our collaborative, trusted relationship and Endeavor's incredible track record of success growing UFC, we believe WWE is optimally positioned for future growth and success as part of TKO. Our focus remains on delivering for our fans across the globe as we take the business to the next level alongside UFC and Endeavor," McMahon stated.
WWE Superstar Spectacle 2023 Results
- Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Indus Sher (No Contest)
- Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens & Sami Zaun def. Indus Sher (Jinder Mahal, Veer & Sanga)
- Natalya def. Zoey Stark
- WWE Intercontinental Championship: Gunther def. Shanky
- Bron Breakker def. Odyssey Jones
- Women's World Championship: Rhea Ripley def. Natalya
- John Cena & Seth Rollins def. Imperium (Ludwig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci)