Kurt Angle UFC Contract Revealed

Details of the Kurt Angle UFC contract have been revealed, according to a report from Wrestling Inc.

For years now, professional wrestling fans have long wondered what it would be like if Angle were to step into the Octagon and try to become a UFC star. Rumors have long persisted that the two sides have often been in communications to see if the timing was right, even as Angle grew older and older. Angle is 46-years-old right now, and the possibility is still being talked about.

A lot of professional wrestlers have talked about making the jump to MMA. Some have done it. Brock Lesnar became a legend in UFC. Bobby Lashley is on the verge of a getting a well-deserved shot at the heavyweight championship in Bellator. Even Batista picked up a victory during his only professional mixed martial arts match before jumping full steam ahead into Hollywood.

While a lot of MMA guys snicker at the thought of professional wrestlers trying to make a jump into their sport, Angle has enough credibility to earn their respect. He has been an NCAA Division I Champion twice. Kurt also won the gold medal in freestyle wrestling during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and he did that with a heavily-injured neck. He’s a world class athlete.

That inspirational showing during the 1996 Summer Olympics was the reason why Dana White decided to approach Angle about signing a UFC contract. His promotion was not the money making juggernaut it is today, so he needed someone with name value. Angle had that plus the empathy of the audience because he earned a gold medal for the U.S.

Since UFC did not have a ton of money at the time, White was only able to offer Angle a moderate contract. The deal was to have seen Angle fighting ten times for the promotion. For those fights, he would have received $150,000, which equates to $15,000 per fight. That is not horrible, but it did not match the financial potential that Angle had in WWE.

Angle has long stated that if he were younger right now, the decision to jump to UFC would be a whole lot easier. White has maintained a friendship with Angle and would love to have someone with his name value in his promotion. Angle would have drawn in WWE and TNA fans in much the same way that White is hoping that CM Punk can do once he makes his UFC debut.

With UFC becoming one of the most successful companies in the world, they would have been able to offer a much better contract to Kurt Angle. The Olympian probably could command more than $1 million for a couple fights. It would definitely be in the same neighborhood as the deal that Punk signed with White. The money would have been enough to pry Angle away from professional wrestling.

Of course, Angle might be leaving the wrestling industry even without the UFC contract. The former world heavyweight champion has already signed on with Bellator to be a commentator, which enables him to be closer to the sport. Kurt has also publicly stated that he was leaving TNA when his contract with them expires in the early part of 2016.

The odds of Angle stepping from the commentating booth to the ring in Bellator is still there, but his chance of signing a UFC contract is more than likely something in the past.