The UFC originally had plans for Kurt Angle versus Kimbo Slice on a pay-per-view card?
“It’s true! It’s damn true,” claims Angle.
The 42-year-old former WWE wrestler recently spoke with The Void about the proposed MMA bout that never came to be.
“The first time I met (Dana White), he wouldn’t let me wrestle and fight, and I had just signed with TNA, and I didn’t want to go back to TNA and say, ‘Hey, I’m not doing this now…’ so he said ‘call me when you’re done wrestling,'” said Angle.
“I called him a couple of years later—I was getting a little tired of wrestling—I said ‘Hey, I’m ready,’ so we had another meeting and he had me do a physical, and he threw a great offer at me, but said ‘I need you in four and a half weeks.'”
This would’ve shortened any potential camp for Angle, who had virtually no MMA fighting experience outside of training.
Angle dreamed of one day competing inside the UFC octagon, but if his dream was destined to unfold, he wanted to be at his best. A fighter, especially one with Angle’s age and limited experience, can hardly compete at his best with such a short training camp.
“I said ‘I can’t do that. You’ve gotta give me three to six months,’ but he said ‘I need you in four and a half weeks,’ so I said ‘Well then, we’re not going to be able to do this,'” Angle stated.
“The reason Dana White wanted me so quickly though is because he wanted to put me in the next available pay-per-view against Kimbo Slice.
“I could’ve done it in four and a half weeks, but I wanted to be at my best. I didn’t want to start training, almost be at my best, but not quite. No matter who it is, I knew I wanted to take them down and pound them, but I wanted to be 100-percent ready, I didn’t want to just train for four weeks.”
“In fact, I couldn’t have trained for four weeks anyway,” Angle continued. “I would’ve trained for two weeks, and then tapered down for two weeks to get ready. It didn’t even make sense. Two and a half weeks of training? Who does that? Also, I hadn’t even trained in MMA for at least a year and a half.”
Angle wished things could’ve turned out differently, but he understands the window has closed on a potential career in MMA. As a former Olympic gold medalist, Angle and fans will always ponder the possibilities.
What would an in-shape Angle at optimum condition look like in the UFC octagon?
MMA fans will never know the answer to that question.
“My MMA career is over. I always wanted to do it, but I think going back to wrestling at the Olympics will fill that void, that ‘what if…'”
Angle is expected to try out for the 2012 U.S. Olympic team. If he earns a spot, he would be the oldest member ever to make the team.
UFC President Dana White hasn’t confirmed any of Angle’s comments.
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