Kurt Angle recently appeared on The MMA Hour and spoke about how close he was to fighting MMA. Here are the highlights…
On How Close He Was to Doing MMA: “I’ve had meetings with them all in MMA, World Series (where he’s still in talks about possibly doing a television commentary role), 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 (the No. 2 U.S. pro wrestling company). 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.”
On Almost Appearing on the Ultimate Fighter: “The second time I met with Dana, I took the physical,” Angle said. “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.”