Deron Winn's breakout victory at Golden Boy MMA in 2018 was one over a UFC fighter-turned-pro wrestler Tom Lawlor, but he could have been one himself.
Winn, a high level amateur wrestler, has taken the MMA world by storm since debuting in 2017. With Daniel Cormier backing him, Winn has a lot of the right people in MMA on his side -- but that's not exclusive to mixed martial arts. Even though he has no real interest in pro wrestling, he has people pulling on him to join the pro wrestling scene as well.
"Gerald Brisco has recruited me, and I've sat and spent a lot of time with him. He said I would kill it, they love my size, my smile. I don't think so man. I don't know where I'll be in ten years. If the money's right. I'm in this to have a comfortable life. When we were at a show, we got front row tickets to see Ronda's (Rousey) big coming out party. That's as cool as you can get. Ronda's looking at us in the crowd, I'm there with Daniel Cormier, Michael Chiesa, Travis Browne's right behind us. I don't watch it on TV," said Winn. "Unless The Rock comes back, I have no interest."
When pressed on the subject, Deron's commitment to amateur wrestling was clear. He told James Lynch in an exclusive interview with Fightful.com, Winn expressed his perception of Olympic Champions and Kurt Angle making a career in WWE.
"I hope people don't take this wrong, but I respect an Olympic Champion more than an MMA champion. It's been my passion my whole life. I didn't even sniff the team and I was really f--kin' good. It's hard for me to see a guy like Kurt Angle sell out, but I can't blame him. There's no end game in amateur wrestling unless you're going to be a coach," said Winn.
You can see our full, exclusive interview with Deron Winn above, where he discusses how he signed with the UFC, working with Daniel Cormier and Cain Velasquez and more.
