UFC star confirms he is in talks with WWE, could use Rikishi's Stinkface as his finisher
A current UFC star recently confirmed that he is in talks with WWE about a potential appearance and already has a finisher in mind.
Derrick Lewis is one of the best heavyweight fighters in the UFC and holds the record for the most knockouts in UFC history. Lewis is set to take on Rodrigo Nascimento at UFC on ESPN this coming Saturday.
In a press conference for the ESPN event, The Black Beast was asked about the possibility of working with WWE. Lewis claimed that he's been talking with the company, and there were potential plans for him back in February.
"Yeah, we actually in talks right now. We've been talking for a few months now. I was supposed to go down there February to check everything out," Lewis said.
As for his finisher, Lewis already has Rikishi's popular Stinkface maneuver in his mind:
"Something like Rikishi, you know? Something like that (Stinkface). You might see me. Somehow I like taking off my shorts so we might see something like that."
Derrick Lewis is one of the funniest and most entertaining fighters in the UFC. Lewis pulling down his shorts because his "b*lls was hot" at UFC 229 after knocking out Alexander Volkov is out there somewhere on the internet.
WWE and UFC are both under the TKO umbrella
WWE and UFC officially merged in September and gave birth to TKO Group Holdings. They might be under one company but are still two different franchises. WWE is about sports entertainment, and UFC is still a legitimate mixed martial arts promotion. Both promotions have different CEOs, Nick Khan and Dana White, respectively.
However, it's not hard to understand why fans anticipate a crossover between the two companies. It's more likely for UFC stars to make the jump because of the controlled nature of the spectacle.
Michael Chandler started the trend when he was in attendance on February 20 to call out Conor McGregor. Several UFC fighters have also used wrestling themes for their entrances, such as The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Bret Hart, and Triple H.