Kurt Angle to sign with UFC?

[4thstreetpete]

Upon hearing the terrible news of the passing of Mike Awesome I would like to discuss another topic that will be making news. We need a distraction from all these talk of former and current wrestlers dying much too young. I really don't know how much more I can take of this.

Something really needs to be done with the industry and as much as people like to knock Vince Macmahon, at least he is doing 'something' with the drug testing that is done with the wwe. The latest suspension it seems like is Test who is being pulled from house shows (but still on TV) for failing a drug test.

Which brings me to one of my most favourite performers. Kurt Angle has admitted himself that he is on the verge of something really bad happening. He was addicted to painkillers and at times couldn't get off the couch to take out the garbage when he was at home. He was one of the worst case in the wwe and this was what eventually led him to quit the wwe due to the hectic schedule.

He has joined TNA and to be frank, I couldn't be happier. He's working a much more lighter schedule and it won't be exclusive to TNA, which means he can pursue MMA if he wants to. Had something bad happen to Kurt Angle I would've been very saddened, so I think this is a great move for him.

I haven't seen this brought up but Kurt Angle did a radio interview on http://www.betweentheropes.com/ this past week and it was VERY VERY interesting. He's been doing non stop radio shows when he first signed with TNA and had always expressed interest doing MMA.

When Angle first quit the WWE, every fighting organization under the sun offered him a contract. Among them was UFC who offered him one of the biggest contract in UFC history as well as Pride who offered him 30 million for 5 years. At the time UFC president Dana White wanted Angle to quit wrestling to join UFC because he wanted to market the UFC as a legitamate sport and didn't really wanted one of his fighters to be also wrestling in TNA at the same time.
This was really the deal breaker for Angle as he still wanted to do wrestling and didn't really wanted to be exclusive to one company.

Well this all changed as Kurt signed with TNA and when showtime's EliteXC offered Kurt Angle a contract, Kurt accepted and will be doing MMA. Word got out to Dana and how quickly his tune changed. As you could imagine when Dana found out that Angle accepted the deal with EliteXC he must've been shaking in his boots. Dana definately do not want EliteXC to grab a major star like Angle right now. He called up Dixie Carter and asked him why he isn't signing with UFC. She told him that the UFC wanted him exclusively. Dana changed his tune and asked to speak to Angle so they can work something out. As you're reading this they are under heavy negotiations as we speak.

Kurt Angle says he doesn't know who he wants to sign with now, EliteXC or UFC. Angle is definately doing MMA and wants a 3 fight deal, he'll have to do it soon as he's getting older. He's definately signing with one of these companies but if you read betweent he lines it's definately going to be with UFC. Kurt Angle vs Renzo Gracie or Frank Shamrock has no where the appeal that Angle vs Chuck Liddell, Ortiz or Crocop does.

Dana White knows that with Angle signing it will draw the biggest buyrate in UFC history and will eclipse Liddell/Ortiz by a HUGE margin. It will draw the wwe/pro wrestling fan holdouts into MMA as well. With the biggest buyrate in UFC history as well as getting a percentage of the PPV, Angle stands to make much much more than the $2 million that Tito and Chuck made for their fight.

I thought this was a very insigtful interview and if you get a chance check it out at http://www.betweentheropes.com/ . Kurt has always said that he wanted to do MMA and now the door is open for him. Not to mention that he's friends with Randy Couture.

Kurt Angle vs Chuck Liddell or Mirko Crocop is MONEY folks.

[SNOWBALL]

is there any reason to believe that he's a skilled fighter?

[4thstreetpete]

[ QUOTE ]
is there any reason to believe that he's a skilled fighter?

[/ QUOTE ]

He's at the very worst a gold medalist amateur wrestler. He also admitted that he might get his butt kicked by the better fighters but it's not like he's going to be a pushover.

With Kurt Angle's big ego, I would say it's a lock that he would sign with UFC and not EliteXC.

[DonkeyKongSr]

[ QUOTE ]
is there any reason to believe that he's a skilled fighter?

[/ QUOTE ]

You know it's true. It's damn true.

[slickpoppa]

I have no interest in seeing Angle in the UFC at all.

Although he won a gold medal and is obviously a ridiculous athlete, he is 38 years old and has not competed against actively resisting opponents in 11 years. And he is a 38 year old who's body has taken a lot of punishment. Why should get paid millions of dollars in a sport which he has never competed in? A gold medal 11 years ago does not make someone a mixed martial artist.

With some MMA training I wouldn't be surprised if Angle could wipe the floor with C level opponents using pure athleticism and wrestling, but he has absolutely no chance against any top 20 fighter, much less the likes of Mirko Cro Cop or Chuck Liddell.

I have no doubt that Angle could put asses in the seats, but I'd much rather see the UFC put money towards signing elite fighters like Nogueira, Wanderlei Silva, or Fedor.

Angle in the UFC would just be a sideshow like Ortiz-Shamrock. I can see it now, the UFC signs Angle and lets him beat 2 taylor-made opponents. Then they throw him against Cro Cop and bill it as the fight of the century; Olympic Gold medalist wrestler vs. the most feared striker in the world. Then Angle gets his head kicked off while Dana dives into a money bin filled with gold coins like Scrooge McDuck. Sorry, but I have no desire to see the UFC turned into any more of a spectacle-over-substance organization than it already is. The ADD fans who start booing when a fight goes to the ground or there isn't a KO in 30 seconds are bad enough. Adding pro-wrestling fans into the mix would probably not help in that department.

So in conclusion, I have no interest in seeing a 38 year old without a single MMA fight getting paid millions when legit fighters like Rich Franklin are still getting paid 5 figures. No disrespect to Kurt Angle who is an amazing athlete, but as of now he's just a name.

[Kamakaze22]

Kurt Angle is a name everyone, or almost everyone, knows.
There are a [censored] ton of wrestling fans who don't watch MMA. You bring one of their guys into the mix to see if they can really fight, you have a huge PPV. This gets bigger endorsements. It gets more money meaning more fighters meaning more names and a wider audience. The only thing Kurt Angle is going to do for MMA is help it go more mainstream and become more of a success.

[LesJ]

From a wrestling (and TNA) fan perspective, this is quite concerning as well. I don't hardly see how this will be helpful to TNA or Angle's standing with the company in the least bit. Can TNA not mention the fact that their biggest star is going to participate in a "real" fight in a UFC ring(thus implicitly admitting that their matches AREN'T real)?

And I have to agree with slickpoppa here, I don't see Angle being able to compete at the highest level in UFC. What happens to TNA when Angle goes up against a UFC star and gets destroyed? I don't see this scenario being positive for anyone with the exception (as poppa stated) of the UFC owners and Angle himself (only from a immediate financial aspect).

Les

[Russ M.]

Bart Gunn thinks this is a great idea.

[slickpoppa]

[ QUOTE ]
Can TNA not mention the fact that their biggest star is going to participate in a "real" fight in a UFC ring(thus implicitly admitting that their matches AREN'T real)?


[/ QUOTE ]

I don't follow wrtestling at all, but is this really an issue? Doesn't everyone except for 5 year olds know that wrestling is fake, but they enjoy it anyway because of the characters and stroylines???

[slickpoppa]

[ QUOTE ]
Kurt Angle is a name everyone, or almost everyone, knows.
There are a [censored] ton of wrestling fans who don't watch MMA. You bring one of their guys into the mix to see if they can really fight, you have a huge PPV. This gets bigger endorsements. It gets more money meaning more fighters meaning more names and a wider audience. The only thing Kurt Angle is going to do for MMA is help it go more mainstream and become more of a success.

[/ QUOTE ]

First of all, let me clarify that I'm not disputing Angle's ability to draw a big audience and generate money.

What I'm saying is that more money and more fans are not necessarily good for the sport if the fans are being attracted for the wrong reasons (at least from my perspective). If the money is being generated because fans want to see famous names participate in gimmick fights, then that's a loss in my opinion. Sure, some fighters might get rich beating up guys like Angle, but more serious fans will lose out because fights like Fedor v. Cro Cop II and Liddell v. Silva would be pushed to the back-burner.

Instead of Cro Cop v. Kurt Angle, imagine if Chuck Liddell fought Wanderlei Silva in Madison Square Garden on network TV. That will probably never happen for many reasons, but that is my idea of mainstream exposure that I think would be healthy because new fans would get to see two of the greatest fighters ever going at it, rather than a great fighter beating up a famous name.