Kurt Angle makes dubious claim that UFC recently made him an offer
1996 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling Kurt Angle plays an undefeated Russian middleweight named Koba” in the upcoming MMA…
1996 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling Kurt Angle plays an undefeated Russian middleweight named Koba” in the upcoming MMA film Warrior.” Once he was cast in the role, Angle enjoyed training and participating in MMA drills, so he says he called UFC president Dana White and discussed becoming a f—— fighter.
I actually contacted Dana White again after the movie,” Angle told MMAWeekly Radio. “I flew out to meet him once and got a great offer. I contacted him again, I was thinking about dropping out of Impact wrestling, and there were some personal problems with my marriage and I just wanted to get away. I contacted Dana White, I flew out, and he had me take the UFC physical. I passed it, thank God, and he gave me the offer.”
The terms weren’t good, I mean not for me, and the terms I gave him weren’t good for him. He wanted me ready in four-and-a-half weeks; I wanted three to six months. So I respect Dana White and I love him to death, very good friend. I knew I was capable of winning in four-and-a-half weeks, but I wanted to be at my best.
Angle is cuirently training for what at 42 years old must be his final run at the Olympics.
I’ve been training for five months. I contacted USA Wrestling. By the end of the year, I will probably be out at the Olympic training center for periods of time. Their concern was ‘Kurt, are you really doing this? We need you out here because if you make the team, God willing, we want you to medal.”
So they know I’m making a very serious approach at this, and if I do make the team and I do beat the guys in my weight class, they want to make sure I’m ready to medal.
If the try at the Olympics fails, is Angle still interested in trying MMA?
That remains to be seen. Depending on how good I do, I can’t say no. Obviously, it’s going to raise Dana White’s eyebrows. He actually sat me down and said, ‘Kurt, if you do this, is your neck okay? Are you well enough to do this, cause I know you’ve taken a pounding the last 10 years?’ and I said, ‘Dana, I’m fine. Yeah, I broke my neck five different times, but I have never felt better than now. I’ve had setbacks, but I’m fine.’
I can’t tell you till that time comes, but I tell you what, even making the USA team, the top two or three, it would raise Dana White’s eyebrows. My goal is to make the team. If you make the team in the United States, you have more than a better shot of medaling.
Who knows? Let’s see what happens. I’m not counting out Bellator either. They’re going to be on Spike soon and you never know what’s going to happen with that company, they could flourish. The way Spike promoted the UFC, they could do the same for them.
Angle’s interest in a career in MMA extends back to the 90s.
Right after the (1996) Olympics, I had the chance. Was I going to go into pro wrestling or the UFC? I talked to the UFC, but at the time they were only paying their top fighters 15 grand to fight, and here WWE throws this big contract at me. It’s kind of like, let me see, do I struggle and go in the UFC or do I go here and make a bunch of money? Obviously, the decision was very easy.
Then when the UFC started to become popular, I started to say ‘oh boy, I really should have done that. I don’t know why I didn’t do that. That’s more my cup of tea,’ and then when I was getting ready to make the switch in 2003, I broke my neck.
While he was unavailable for direct comment. White did respond on Twitter when asked if he made the former Olympian an offer. He tweeted, love Kurt, but not true.
Warrior opens nationwide on Sept. 9.
