Anthony Wint’s UFC arrival came with the kind of speed that usually belongs to a highlight package, not a career arc.
On Saturday night at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, the former New York Jets linebacker turned heavyweight prospect made his promotional debut count, submitting Terrance Chatman with an arm-triangle choke in the first round. The win pushed Wint to 8-0 and capped a stretch that has turned two weeks of opportunity into a sudden UFC breakout.
That debut came only 11 days after Wint earned his UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series. He did that with a 34-second technical knockout of Matt Adams in Week 1 of Season 10, a performance so decisive that Dana White awarded him a deal on the spot. In a sport built on quick promotions for finishers, that kind of turnaround from contender to UFC winner is still a rare one.
Wint was no mystery going into the fight. He entered as a massive betting favorite at odds as high as -1050, and the number made sense given how routinely he has ended fights early. He had already stopped his previous three opponents in a combined 102 seconds, and the Chatman finish kept that streak of fast, clean results rolling.
STRAIGHT TO SLEEP 💤
— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) August 23, 2026
Anthony Wint earns the submission in his UFC debut!
[ #UFCSacramento | LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/q71OkbNG9N
His route to MMA has been far from typical. The Florida native signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent and appeared in the NFL, where he logged a tackle and forced a fumble in a 2018 game against the Green Bay Packers. After his football career faded, he switched to mixed martial arts in 2023 and adapted quickly, piling up finishes while also winning a run as Fury FC heavyweight champion before Contender Series brought him into the UFC picture.
Anthony Wint fought in DWCS 11 days ago. He is making his UFC debut today 😳 pic.twitter.com/3AP3Xfp7Fr
— MMA On Point (@mmaonpoint) August 22, 2026
At 6-foot and around 230 pounds, Wint has paired power with grappling instincts that have separated him from plenty of heavyweights moving through the ranks. Now, after finishing opponents in nearly every professional appearance and doing it twice in less than two weeks on the UFC stage, he has become one of the promotion’s most talked-about new names.
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