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WWE Legend Kurt Angle Reveals a Unique Demand He Made When Dana White Offered UFC Contract

Published 10/02/2021, 11:42 AM EDT

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Throughout his career, WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle has achieved various titles and awards in the pro-wrestling sport. However, what if ‘The Wrestling Machine’ never returned to wrestling after leaving the WWE? Well, it’s not hypothetical as Dana White did reach out to him for a run in the UFC.

After leaving the WWE, Angle worked his magic in TNA (Total Nonstop Action) now known as IMPACT Wrestling. Angle even worked his way in traditional Japanese matches before finally returning to WWE in an authoritative figure.

However, there have been multiple athletes who have jumped ship from mixed-martial-arts to pro-wrestling or vice versa and Angle could have been one of them.

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Watch this story: Brock Lesnar To Braun Strowman: WWE Superstars With Massive Barehand Strength.

During the latest episode of ‘The Kurt Angle Show,’ Kurt Angle confessed that he was thinking of making the switch from pro-wrestling to MMA after he left WWE in 2006.

Kurt Angle admits Dana White offered him UFC contract after WWE departure

During his podcast, Angle revealed UFC President Dana White reached out to him after his WWE release. Angle further added that he even trained for his potential UFC career. The wrestling legend revealed that he started training at the Pittsburgh Fight Club when he left WWE.

He said,Even when I signed with TNA, I was still doing the training. I wanted to become more knowledgeable and keep my options open to have a big MMA fight down the road.

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“I started training Jiu-Jitsu, stand up fighting, boxing, learning all the trades so I could be well versed and well prepared if I ever did have a fight.” However, the ‘Olympic Hero’ could never showcase his skills inside the octagon.

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He also detailed the conversation between him and White. Kurt Angle confessed that the UFC made him a pretty good offer to come and throw punches in the octagon.

Angle wanted to wrestle as well as fight

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Angle shared, “When the UFC offered me a deal when I left the WWE, it was a really good deal. But I told Dana that I had to wrestle too and he said, ‘There’s no way you can wrestle and fight.”

He continued, “He’s right, that was a stupid idea that I had in my head to think that I could do both. I wouldn’t have survived very long doing both, but that’s what I wanted and Dana would not allow me to, so I had to turn down his offer.


In the world of ‘What ifs’, it seems like an intriguing idea of watching Angle stepping foot inside the cage. However, it seems like all happened for the best because of his injuries.

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While we did not see Kurt Angle tear it up inside the UFC octagon, he did live his dream of becoming an MMA Fighter in Reel Life. Angle appeared in the 2011 Hollywood Film titled ‘Warrior.’ In the film, Angle gave us a glimpse of how great he would’ve been inside the octagon.

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Written by:

Prithvi Mishra

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Prithvi Mishra is a WWE and AEW author for EssentiallySports. Having started his career as a UFC writer, Prithvi has nearly 2 years worth of experience in covering combat sports. Eventually, Prithvi decided to write for his passion and first love- pro wrestling.
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