(Rear-naked-choke to the ankle: If done right, no can defend.)
Kurt Angle appeared on a recent episode of MMAWeekly Radio and dropped a bombshell that he was very close to coming to terms with the UFC recently.
A former Olympic gold medalist in wrestling, Angle says that appearing in the soon-to-be-relesed MMA movie, “Warrior” re-stoked his fire to compete in MMA. Following his last appearance in the Olympics, Angle chose pro wrestling over MMA and has hinted ever since that he would try his hand at the sport one day.
“I actually contacted Dana White again after the movie. I flew out to meet him once and got a great offer. I contacted him again, I was thinking about dropping out of [TNA] Impact Wrestling, and there were some personal problems with my marriage and I just wanted to get away,” he explained. “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.”
He says that some of the clauses in the deal were stifling to his wrestling career and his counter terms, which likely were financially-related weren’t a positive fit for either party.
“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,” he pointed out. “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.”
The UFC president responded to the 42-year-old former WWE champion’s claims via Twitter with a short, but concise reply: “love Kurt, but not true.”