Earlier this week, a host of UFC and WWE executives converged on the New York Stock Exchange to commemorate a high-profile merger between the two companies.
This landmark deal could be extremely beneficial for both and creates a number of interesting business opportunities, most notably, talent-sharing between them.
We've seen plenty of fighters move between the UFC and WWE in the past. Several former UFC stars have tried their hand at pro wrestling—including Ronda Rousey—while the likes of Brock Lesnar and CM Punk went the opposite direction with differing levels of success.
Now that the UFC and WWE are part of the same company, we're likely to see many more athletes moving between the Octagon and the ring. In fact, executives are already talking about it.
"UFC fighters are going to stay focused on the UFC, and WWE superstars obviously do something different in our ring," WWE president Nick Khan told ESPN this week. "... 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."
There are a ton of UFC fighters who could be successful as pro wrestlers. Many of them are likely to come as surprises, like Matt Riddle, who was a pretty forgettable UFC welterweight before finding success in the ring, but here are seven current UFC stars we think have what it takes.
