LAS VEGAS – Anthony Wint believes a message was sent to the UFC heavyweight division with his win at Dana White Contender Series.
Wint (7-0) picked up a violent stoppage win just 35 seconds into his main event bout at Tuesday's DWCS 87. The victory was enough to get him a contract with the UFC, and also get him on UFC CEO Dana White's radar – who was very complimentary of the former NFL player. Wint has only been fighting professionally since 2023, and he feels he's just scratching the surface in of his potential.
"It's scary. I can't even think about it," Wint told MMA Junkie and other media at the DWCS 87 post-fight press conference. "I stay up all night just dreaming about it. I know all the heavyweights are looking at this interview right
now; they're shaking in their boots because I'm 235 pounds, I'm quick, and word on the streets is I can wrestle a little bit. I think that's a lie. I'm not that great of a wrestler. I don't want to go out there and hug people, but man, it's going to get scary because I have great coaches behind me. That's the key. I have a great team around me at Kill Cliff."
Wint lives in South Florida and trains out of Kill Cliff, which is one of the most successful gyms in the world. He's been loving the journey from NFL player to MMA fighter, but he admits it hasn't been easy. He was picked up by the New York Jets in 2018 and was let go from the team the following summer during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It was so hard because it's not just football. I just like to compete," Wint said. "I finally started to love. I finally started seeing the power of God when I got selected to the Jets because it could've been anybody. I don't want to say I was supposed to be in the NFL. God graced me with the opportunity to be there to show me that I could do it, that I could play on that level. Then, when I had to leave, it was so hard because I felt I was broken, but God molded me to be a fighter, and I denied it for a long time. Even till this day I was like, 'Lord, if I lose, I'm quitting.' I told myself that. But God's got a purpose for me, and I sit here today in front of all these cameras."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: DWCS winner Anthony Wint says he has UFC heavyweights 'shaking in their boots'
