In a recent interview, WWE’s Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque addressed the possibility of UFC fighters transitioning to professional wrestling, suggesting that crossovers between the two organizations under the TKO Group Holdings umbrella are likely to increase.
When asked directly if fans might see UFC competitors make the jump to WWE, Triple H was receptive to the idea.
“You might,” he responded. “It just depends on who’s an entertainer and who’s not.”
The wrestling executive pointed to successful crossover stars as evidence that such transitions can work well.
“Look, Brock Lesnar, Ronda… of course, there’s always that possibility. We’re always wide open to it,” he explained.
Triple H also highlighted that the pathway might work in both directions. He noted that WWE’s recruiting efforts, including their NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) program targeting college athletes, are attracting individuals who primarily want to be WWE entertainers but might also be interested in UFC competition.
“There are people coming to us that want to do WWE style entertainment for a living but are like, ‘I might want some of that UFC. I’d dip my toe in that water of taking a shot at UFC if I could,'” he said.
While acknowledging that realistic opportunities in UFC might vary depending on athletic backgrounds, Triple H emphasized that collaboration between the brands is already happening, particularly in the form of coordinated event scheduling.
“The bigger collaboration between us and UFC is what you’re seeing happen now where we’re going into areas and doing almost like a weekend kind of takeover thing,” he explained. “A SmackDown on a Friday night, and then UFC is in there on a Saturday, and then we’re in there with something on a Sunday, and then we do a Monday Night Raw.”
With both WWE and UFC now part of TKO Group Holdings, along with Professional Bull Riders, Triple H sees increased opportunities for synergy.
“It’s this whole entertainment conglomerate… there’s a lot of avenues on that, and that’s going to breed crossover for sure.”
Concluding his thoughts, Triple H emphasized that distinctions between sports and entertainment are often overblown.
“It’s funny to me that people sometimes make the distinction between sport and… everything’s entertainment. The news [is] entertainment. It’s all entertainment. And what I love is that we are sort of the ultimate variety show, and we can do a bit of everything.”
