There are obvious links between professional wrestling and MMA due to the nature of the two sports. The work the athletes put in is brilliant to see and that is why there are so many fans that crossover between the two. It isn't just fans that watch both though, as many of the athletes themselves compete in each sport as well.
There have been several wrestlers that have gone on to compete in MMA such as Brock Lesnar and CM Punk, while there are many MMA fighters who have gone in the other direction, such as Ronda Rousey. But there are also a lot of MMA athletes who are huge wrestling fans, even if they don't make the crossover to ever work for Vince McMahon.
10 Roy Nelson
Roy Nelson is a major name from the MMA world and someone who has a lot of respect for the professional wrestling industry. He pushed throughout his career to compete against Brock Lesnar in the Octagon, but he has also previously been in talks to actually get into the ring.
That is because he is a genuine fan of professional wrestling. Nelson is a top heavyweight who would have been interesting to see inside the wrestling ring at some point though, especially since he enjoys the product himself.
9 Daniel Cormier
Daniel Cormier is another person who has a history with Brock Lesnar, and he just so happens to be one of the greatest UFC stars of all time. However, he is also a massive professional wrestling fan and someone who will happily talk about that.
Cormier actually spoke about working for WWE as a commentator, with a career working in the broadcast section of Vince McMahon's company being something that interests him. This just highlights how much he likes the product overall.
8 Frank Shamrock
Considering the fact that Ken Shamrock is his brother, it shouldn't be a huge surprise that Frank is a lover of professional wrestling. However, he didn't take into the squared circle as Ken did, which is why some people aren't aware of his passion for the sport.
However, he has previously been involved in WrestleMania, in the background. He is a genuine friend of Mickey Rourke's and Shamrock could be seen sat next to him during his 'Mania appearance to be part of the storyline with Chris Jericho.
7 Chael Sonnen
At one point during his career, Chael Sonnen was going to have one of the GOATs, CM Punk walk him to the ring, which is something he wanted to do due to being a big professional wrestling fan. He is known for enjoying the sport, to the point where he has also had talks about possibly making the jump.
Sonnen is a terrific fighter and someone who has a lot of charisma to go along with it, which is why it makes sense that he would possibly want to be involved with professional wrestling at some stage down the line.
6 Anthony Johnson
Anthony Johnson is another name from the MMA world that has an appreciation of professional wrestling. He was actually influenced by The Ultimate Warrior during his youth, and fans learned of his love for wrestling when the Hall Of Famer passed away.
Johnson tweeted his respects after his death, and it became clear that he was somebody who enjoyed the sport. Of course, The Ultimate Warrior was massively charismatic, so it's no surprise he was able to capture the attention of Johnson.
5 Cris Cyborg
Cris Cyborg is one of the most dominant MMA fighters of her generation, and someone who completely changed the game for women in the sport with her brilliant performances. She took things to a new level, but even after thriving inside the Octagon, Cyborg has hinted at appearing in wrestling.
She is a fan of the sport and has stated to being open to the idea of competing for either WWE or AEW. She even tweeted about CM Punk following his debut for Tony Khan's company, showing that she does watch the product as well.
4 Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya is someone else who hasn't ruled out the possibility of joining the world of wrestling down the line. He admitted that he is open to the idea, and that is something that got a lot of people excited due to how talented he is.
Adesanya has publicly stated that he was a big fan of wrestling during the Attitude Era, and he actually credited that time of WWE as what helped get him to where he is and making him the star he is today.
3 Colby Covington
While MMA and professional wrestling have one obvious difference, the psychology and promotional aspects of the two are very similar. This is something that Colby Covington has spoken about in the past, as he actually urged fighters to tap into the professional wrestling mentality.
He has a lot of respect for wrestling and he urged fighters to use promos to their advantage in building up their personality for the fans, while also helping to sell their own fights.
2 Nick Newell
Nick Newell is somebody that is a good friend of CM Punk, and he was very vocal in supporting his jump into the world of MMA when that happened. However, he has never ruled out going in the opposite direction, in fact, Newell has previously admitted that he trains wrestling quite regularly.
He is an athlete who respects what wrestlers do inside the ring, and has openly stated that he owes everything to professional wrestling for the doors it opened to the MMA world, and to him in his own life.
1 Paige VanZant
Paige VanZant is somebody who has spoken about WWE plenty of times throughout her career, mainly because people want to see her compete at some stage. Audiences have been eager to have her make the transition for several years, and she has often thrown hints at doing that.
She is someone who absolutely appreciates the industry and is openly known as a fan to those who follow her. VanZant has had great success in her own right, but she is someone who could become an even bigger name still.