Prior to his iconic WWE tenure, Kurt Angle boasted two NCAA Division I championship titles and an Olympic gold medal in wrestling.
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Prior to his iconic WWE tenure, Kurt Angle boasted two NCAA Division I championship titles and an Olympic gold medal in wrestling. He frequently entertained the notion of venturing into MMA, but just how imminent was this potential transition?
Angle asserts that he engaged in three distinct rounds of negotiations with the UFC and received contract offers over the years.
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“I got offered three different times,” Kurt Angle told ESPN.
Kurt Angle recalled that his initial interaction with the UFC occurred shortly after the 1996 Olympics. Notably, Dana White wasn’t part of the UFC at that time. They presented him with their most appealing offer, which, in his assessment, fell short of being lucrative. This offer entailed a contract for ten fights, amounting to $150,000 in total, which averaged out to $15,000 per fight. Angle mentioned that this figure represented the highest compensation being extended to fighters at that juncture.
“I was like, ‘You know what, that doesn’t sound right. I love fighting, but I don’t love it that much to get my butt kicked for 15 grand.’ So I decided to go to the WWE.”
Angle quickly ascended to stardom in the world of professional wrestling, achieving WWE championship status and attaining mainstream recognition within the industry. Nevertheless, his fascination and curiosity regarding MMA persisted beyond this period.
Several years down the line, Angle revealed that he reached out to the UFC, a time when Dana White and Zuffa were at the helm of the organization.
“In 2006, when I left the WWE, my manager contacted Dana White. I was curious whether I could fight,” he said. “Dana flew me out and put me up in a really nice penthouse suite. He offered me a deal and I considered it, and I ended up turning it down.
“The reason I turned it down in 2006 was because I just signed a contract with TNA, and Dana White would not let me wrestle and fight at the same time. And I didn’t want to go back to TNA and say ‘listen, that contract I just signed is null and void.’ So I didn’t want to do that and I wanted to respect their wishes.”
Dana White had previously corroborated the account of negotiations between Angle and The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). However, according to the UFC President, the sole reason the deal didn’t materialize was due to the WWE star’s failure to meet the required medical standards.
Angle’s numerous neck surgeries were widely reported, and it’s highly probable that these medical issues served as a major obstacle to his potential transition. In hindsight, it was likely a wise decision, given that his advancing age and extensive injury history would have undoubtedly exacted a significant toll on his well-being had he pursued that path.
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