{"id":879936,"date":"2026-09-04T17:04:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T17:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/879936\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T17:04:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T17:04:19","slug":"anthony-wint-says-gambling-addiction-was-bigger-battle-than-2-ufc-fights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/879936\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthony Wint says gambling addiction was bigger battle than 2 UFC fights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anthony
\nWint<\/a> says his toughest opponent was his gambling addiction.<\/p>\n

Wint was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Jets in
\n2018 and waived the next year. He desperately started preparing for
\na comeback to the NFL, which never materialized. Having spent all
\nhis savings, Wint used to live out of his car when a serious
\ngambling addiction emerged. He recently detailed how it came
\nabout.<\/p>\n

Anthony Wint says staying away from gambling in Las Vegas
\ntested him more than Matthew Adams or Terrance Chatman
\n
\nIt all started back in college when Wint made $1,000 out of $300
\nthat his friend\u2019s father had given him. He claims this sparked a
\nhabit that he took eight years to resolve.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen that [NFL comeback] didn\u2019t happen, I was sitting there broke,
\nhomeless, hungry\u2026 In college, my teammate\u2019s dad gave me and my
\nteammate both $300 to gamble with. I turned that $300 into $1,000,
\nand in my head a switch went off,\u201d Wint told Ariel Helwani. \u201cI was
\nlike, \u2018I\u2019ve been homeless my whole life. I\u2019ve been trying to help
\nmy mom out. We\u2019ve been in poverty all our lives. I just made $700
\nin two hours.\u2019 That was the trap. That was the trap of the devil.
\nAnd he had me in those chains for eight years\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Wint recently earned an
\nUltimate Fighting Championship<\/a> contract with a first-round
\nknockout win over Matthew
\nAdams<\/a> on
\nDana White\u2019s Contender Series<\/a>. He refused to leave Las Vegas
\nwithout locking in his UFC debut.<\/p>\n

Wint made an 11-day turnaround for his Octagon debut, finishing
\nTerrance
\nChatman<\/a> at
\nUFC Sacramento<\/a>. He says avoiding gambling while in Las Vegas
\nwas a bigger challenge than Adams or Chatman.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe battle wasn\u2019t Matthew
\nAdams<\/a>, the battle wasn\u2019t Terrance
\nChatman<\/a>,\u201d Wint added. \u201cThe battle was having me sit in Vegas
\nand not gamble. And by the grace of God, I was able to sit and
\nwould see slot machines and blackjack tables and know that I was
\nstronger than the addiction I had before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anthony
\nWint<\/a> opens up about experiencing homelessness and overcoming an
\neight-year gambling addiction:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen that [NFL comeback] didn\u2019t happen, I was sitting there broke,
\nhomeless, hungry.<\/p>\n

In college, my teammate\u2019s dad gave me $300 to gamble with. I turned
\nthat $300 into\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/OkhQ77VVEH<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani)
\nSeptember 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n