WWE president talks UFC crossover after merger

It sounds like there will be some crossover between WWE and UFC athletes at some point following Monday's historic merger. 

"You saw Brock Lesnar go from WWE to UFC, where he became its heavyweight champion, then come back to WWE," WWE president Nick Khan told Bobby Burack of Outkick. "You saw Ronda Rousey and her amazing run with the UFC come over to WWE. Daniel Cormier was a special guest referee for us in our October premium live event this past year. Opportunities like that will continue." 

As noted by Mike Coppinger of ESPN, it was officially announced Monday morning that UFC parent company Endeavor is acquiring WWE and merging it with UFC to form a new entity listed on the New York Stock Exchange as "TKO." Khan confirmed to Burack that the pro wrestling and mixed martial arts brands will still be run separately and that Dana White will serve as UFC president. 

Lesnar originally became an international star in the WWE in the early 2000s before he made the jump to MMA later that same decade. He won the UFC heavyweight title in November 2008 and last competed in the promotion in July 2016. 

Rousey helped put women's MMA on the map during the first half of the 2010s. She last fought in the UFC in December 2016 and made her WWE debut in January 2018. 

Both Lesnar and Rousey are currently active WWE performers and earned victories at WrestleMania 39 on Sunday night. Former UFC fighter Matt Riddle is also on the WWE roster. 

After it was learned Sunday afternoon that a UFC-WWE merger was imminent, former UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor took to Twitter and exchanged some unpleasantries with WWE talent Paul Heyman. Steven Rondina of Bleacher Report mentioned how McGregor upset some WWE performers with comments he offered back in the summer of 2016.

"I’m not sure that every comic book fan was familiar with Black Panther. But certainly, every movie fan is now," Khan added about goals he has for where WWE could be five years from Monday's news. "We want that for our characters. So, if we do it with the right partners, and in the right spirit, we think that we have something that is largely untapped."