Report: Kimbo, Angle nearly fought

Published Sep. 28, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

UK Publication “The Void” has an interesting interview with former Olympic Gold Medalist, and current pro wrestling star Kurt Angle. On the heels of his involvement in the MMA film Warrior, Angle discussed his potential involvement in a UFC fight. UFC president Dana White, who has publicly denied ever even discussing contracts with Angle, apparently wanted him to fight internet fight star and can-crushing boxer Kimbo Slice in a month on pay-per-view.

In Angle’s own words:

"I’ve tried out five times; let me tell you what happened.

I met with the IFL, I met with Pro VFC, I met with Pride, I met with the UFC twice, and the reason I did not sign with any of them was, the three other companies weren’t paying me near what UFC was offering, so there was a money issue; then, the UFC, who I would have signed with in a second (and I passed their physical, thank God) wanted me to start just four-and-a-half weeks later. No way.

"I had to do what they wanted under their terms. Me trying out for the Olympics is under my terms. I choose my weight class, how I’m gonna train, who I’m gonna train with, and that the US Open is when I’m gonna start.

"It was hard because I love Dana White and I respect him a lot. The first time I met him 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.'

"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.'

"I said, 'I can”t do that. You’ve gotta give me 3-6 months,' but he said, 'I need you in four a half weeks,' so I said, 'Well then, we’re not going to be able to do this.' ”