Kurt Angle almost stepped inside the Octagon for a mixed martial arts fight.
The Olympic gold medalist recently spoke with Sports Illustrated for an interview, during which he reflected on his past negotiations with the Ultimate Fighting Championship to potentially make his MMA debut to find out how he would fare in the combat sports world.
“We almost found out,” Angle said of potential success in MMA. “I was prepared to compete for UFC. There was a point in time I thought I would be with UFC and leave [pro wrestling promotion] TNA. Dana White was really nice to me. He offered me a one-fight deal for a lot of money, but I passed on that to stay with TNA. I got another great offer for The Ultimate Fighter with Kimbo Slice [in 2008], and that would have led to a six-fight contract. Ultimately, I stayed with pro wrestling.”
The WWE and IMPACT Wrestling Hall of Fame legend also spoke about potential dream fights against former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier.
“Daniel Cormier, that would have been a phenomenal matchup,” Angle said. “I would have loved to fight Daniel. I have a lot of respect for him. I consider him one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. He struggled to beat Jon Jones, but Jones is one badass. When he’s on, I’m not sure there is anyone that could beat him. He had a lot of demons, but when that guy was on, he was the best. I would have loved the chance to test myself against them. I always had success at heavyweight in my career, but my natural weight is 200 and I do think light heavyweight would have been a better division for me.”
Check out the complete Kurt Angle interview by visiting SI.com.
