Deontay Wilder, the former WBC heavyweight champion, has been out of the ring for over a year, and his absence from the sport has led to speculation about his future. Recently, Wilder has expressed interest in potentially fighting in MMA, and UFC boss Dana White has given him respect for showing interest in the sport.

White opened the door for Wilder to fight in the UFC by telling reporters, over the weekend: “I like Deontay, we have a good relationship and it’s interesting, you know what I mean? You never see this s**t happening. You never see the boxers going, ‘I want to come over there and fight in the UFC.’ So, we’ll see what happens”.

Wilder has been in talks to fight Anthony Joshua since the Brit's knockout win against Robert Helenius in August, but their mega-fight is yet to be made. Wilder and Joshua are in talks to fight on the same card just two days before Christmas, as the American is set to face Joseph Parker in Riyadh whilst ‘AJ' will fight Otto Wallin at the same event.

Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou claimed that Wilder has been training MMA in secret for the past few months. Wilder seemed open for a two-fight deal against Ngannou, who went the distance with Tyson Fury last month, that would see the pair fight in boxing and MMA.

“That has been in the discussion,” Ngannou said on The MMA Hour. “That’s something that can potentially happen. Deontay Wilder for a couple of months, or a little while, has been training MMA.”

White has been a vocal critic of boxing in the past, calling it “really stupid” over Fury and Wilder failing to organize a rematch. However, he has also praised the sport when it deserves it. After the second fight between Fury and Wilder, White hailed the thrilling heavyweight fight by claiming it was what “boxing needed”.

White has always been open to cross-promotion, and he has previously worked with boxing promoters to put on events such as the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor fight in 2017. If Wilder were to make the transition to MMA, it would be a significant move for both sports.