For years, Kurt Angle teased the notion of attempting to see how far his wrestling prowess could take him in mixed martial arts.
But the thought never materialized on account of the fact that the former Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medalist didn’t want to give up pro wrestling.
Angle detailed the close calls he had to signing with some of the most prominent organizations in the sport, including the UFC, on last Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, per a report from MMA Fighting‘s Dave Meltzer:
I’ve had meetings with them all in MMA, World Series, Elite XC, twice with UFC. Whether it was the money or the timing wasn’t right, it didn’t happen. I considered going until I turned 42. I wouldn’t even think about doing it now, unfortunately. I don’t regret it. When I met with Dana White, he wanted me to quit wrestling entirely, but I had just signed with TNA. I met with Dana the same week and he said I needed to quit wrestling. I couldn’t tell (TNA owner) Dixie Carter I wanted to back out.
The 46-year-old Angle, a former WWF/WWE heavyweight champ, still competes as a pro wrestler. He’s signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he’s the company’s heavyweight champ.
Angle admitted that he’s in the twilight of his career, and if he continues to compete as a pro wrestler, it will have to be on a part-time basis.
As for MMA, Angle knows his small window to dabble has long since passed. However, Angle did say that if he would have picked MMA following his Olympic gold medal in 1996, he would have experienced the same type of success that he enjoyed in pro wrestling.
“I believe I’d have been as good in MMA as I was in pro wrestling, but I don’t regret it,” he said. “If the money was there in MMA when I came out of the Olympics, I’d have gone into MMA. But it wasn’t there until I was four years into my WWE career. But I love pro wrestling, so it wasn’t meant to be for me.”
Angle convened with UFC President Dana White on more than one occasion to discuss potential deals. During his second meeting with White, which took place in 2008, Angle said White talked about the idea of having Angle join the cast of The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights, which included Kimbo Slice and Roy Nelson. That season of TUF was coached by Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Angle said:
The second time I met with Dana, I took the physical. He wanted me to do The Ultimate Fighter with Kimbo. He was great. He was willing to pay me a good bit of money to be on the show. But he wanted me ready in four-and-a-half weeks. It just wasn’t in the cards. I think it would have been great TV. He was willing to sign me to a six-fight deal after the show, but he wanted me on the show. But it wasn’t going to happen in four-and-a-half weeks.
Angle not only turned down White’s offer to compete on TUF, but he also walked away from a potentially lucrative deal to fight an old pro wrestling rival, former American Kickboxing Academy student Daniel Puder.
Angle said he was interested in fighting Puder in the Octagon, but said he decided to turn the deal down because he had just signed with TNA Wrestling days earlier.
An accomplished actor who has landed several roles in motion pictures and television shows, Angle made his name as an amateur wrestler. After winning a high school state championship in Pennsylvania, Angle won a pair of NCAA Division I titles at Clarion University. He then defeated Iran’s Abbas Jadidi to win the gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in 1996 in Atlanta.
Angle’s younger brother, Mark, was also a top-flight amateur wrestler, reaching All-American status in three straight seasons from 1998 to 2000 at Clarion.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com