Ex-NFL prospect Anthony Wint reveals how grappling Covington convinced him to pursue MMA

Anthony Wint, a former NFL prospect who won his UFC debut at UFC Sacramento, has opened up about the chain of events that steered him away from professional football and into mixed martial arts — a path that began when the Covid-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020 CFL season.

Speaking on the Deep Waters podcast, Wint explained that his relationship with veteran manager Malki Kawa proved to be the first turning point. Visiting Kawa’s office, Wint noticed a photograph of Jon Jones on the wall and quickly learned that Kawa managed the pound-for-pound great. That connection planted the idea that elite MMA was within reach.

With his CFL opportunity gone, Kawa encouraged Wint to try fighting, telling him he had the tools to become a world champion. Wint made his way to MMA Masters, where he began sparring against experienced practitioners — and found he could hold his own immediately.

“When I started grappling those guys, Miguel Baeza was there; Colby Covington comes later,” Wint said. “But they have a lot of big dudes who’ve been doing it for a long time and I’m dominating them. I don’t know the submissions, but I know how to do it.”

That early success in the gym removed any lingering doubt. Wint described his competitive instincts as the force that made it impossible to walk away once he had started competing, particularly after tasting victory in his first amateur bout.

“Once I started, I knew I was in it,” he said. “The first time I got into my first amateur fight and I got a W, I knew I was stuck in it. Fighting is a sport where once you get into it, it’s one of those sports where you’re the one who has to make the decision. I can’t end it on a loss.”

Wint carried that mentality into the UFC, emerging victorious on his promotional debut in Sacramento and signalling that his transition from the gridiron to the cage is one worth watching.