“I Asked Dana One Time” – WWE Icon Ric Flair Reveals to Joe Rogan That Dana White Was Interested in “Phenomenal” Kurt Angle for the UFC

Kurt Angle is arguably one of the most recognized sporting personalities in the world. He is famous for winning the gold medal at the 1996 Olympics with a broken neck, which he later incorporated as a catchphrase in his professional wrestling career. However, many would have hoped that a wrestler, as accomplished as Kurt Angle, should have been in MMA. WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair recently opened up on what Dana White told him about the Olympic winner.

Kurt Angle has forged a great career in wrestling that spanned almost 20 years. His hilarious character work equally matched his in-ring skills. However, fans never got to see him fight inside the octagon.

Ric Flair and Dana White once talked about Kurt Angle becoming an MMA fighter

‘The Nature Boy’ made a recent appearance on ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ and mentioned a conversation he had with UFC president Dana White about Kurt Angle’s career in MMA. He told Joe Rogan, “I asked Dana [White] one time what he thought Kurt [Angle] would have done [in MMA]. He said [that] Kurt would have been phenomenal.”

Joe Rogan supported White’s statement and wondered who would have taken down Kurt Angle, who is very quick and has incomparable wrestling skills. He also claims that wrestling is the most important skill that MMA fighters should focus on. However, there were instances when Kurt Angle received offers to fight in the UFC.

Olympic gold medalist turned down UFC offer

In an old interview with ‘MMA Fighting’, Kurt Angle mentioned that Dana White once asked him to stop wrestling entirely. The UFC president even offered him a big-money fight against WWE’s ‘Tough Enough’ winner Daniel Puder, with whom Kurt Angle had a history. However, the WWE Hall of Famer turned down that offer since he recently signed a deal with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, more popularly known as TNA.

He also mentioned that he had meetings with many MMA promotions, like Elite XC and World Series. However, nothing came to fruition, and interestingly, Kurt Angle doesn’t regret declining those offers. Dana White even went on to offer Angle a spot opposite Kimbo Slice in ‘The Ultimate Fighter’. But the former WWE champion couldn’t make time for it and had to decline that opportunity as well.

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The Olympic gold medalist has portrayed the role of an MMA fighter in a movie titled, ‘Warrior’. He even appeared as a celebrity guest judge in PFL a couple of months ago. But apart from that, he hasn’t competed in fights in a professional capacity. However, he will always remain one of the biggest entertainers and wrestlers of his generation.

What are your thoughts on Kurt Angle as an MMA fighter? Let us know in the comments down below.

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