How would Kurt Angle have fared in MMA?

It’s 2006 and Kurt Angle and WWE have parted ways. A myriad of explanations for the sudden departure of one of the Ruthless Aggression Era’s most beloved stars have been thrown around. After a quiet summer, Angle was revealed as the latest star to join TNA (now IMPACT Wrestling). Far from done with the squared (or, in TNA’s case at the time, hexagonal) circle, Angle would continue to ply his trade all the way up to 2019.

As an Olympic gold medallist (did you know he won it with a broken freakin’ neck?), three-time NCAA Division I All-American, two-time NCAA Division I Heavyweight Champion, FILA Junior World Freestyle Champion and FILA World Championships gold medallist, Angle is one of the most decorated amateur wrestlers of all time. A true king of freestyle wrestling, Angle’s focus, commitment and near fatal dedication to his sport made him a truly special athlete.

In preparation for the 1996 Olympics, Angle ceased and desisted from taking days off. Training all day every day, Angle would begin with a long morning run. From there, the future WWE champ would complete a series of uphill sprints. Only when he was completely exhausted would he return to the gym to begin his wrestling training for the day. The logic to this debilitating approach was that if he could turn an opponent into a pretzel when gassed, no one would be able to handle him on a full tank.

Overcoming a potentially quadriplegia-inducing neck injury, Angle won Olympic gold in Atlanta. He then promptly retired from the sport he’d dedicated so much of his life to at that point. After flirting with a career in motivational speaking, Angle moved to the wildly popular WWF/E where he began training to be a pro wrestler.

While the UFC was established by then, it didn’t quite have the glowing reputation and box office power it boasts today. At the time, pro wrestling was a much more lucrative option for the Olympic Hero.

Kurt Angle was in talks to fight in the UFC

Shortly after signing with TNA, Angle was offered a chance to enter the octagon by UFC president Dana White. In a 2015 interview with Dave Meltzer, Angle revealed:

"When I met with Dana White, he wanted me to quit wrestling entirely, but I had just signed with TNA (the No. 2 U.S. pro wrestling company). I met with Dana the same week and he said I needed to quit wrestling. I couldn't tell (TNA owner) Dixie Carter I wanted to back out."

Between a cushy new contract with TNA and the woeful state of his neck health (at one point, Angle was completely numb in several fingers), a move to the UFC never materialized. Despite several flirtations with entering the fighting world in the years after, Angle stuck to professional wrestling.

If he had competed in his prime, how successful would Kurt Angle have been?

Even by wrestling standards (pro or amateur), Angle was considered inhumanly tough. From a pain threshold normally reserved for science fiction to a work ethic that bordered on insane, Angle would’ve likely been a one-of-a-kind fighter.

His total mastery of all aspects of freestyle wrestling would’ve made him supremely dangerous in close quarters, both on the feet and on the mat. From his strength to his takedown techniques, very few would’ve had any real shot at out-grappling the WWE Hall of Famer.

However, when it comes to striking, Angle would’ve been going in blind. Completely unseasoned and untested in this field of combat, Angle would’ve needed to work on his defense extensively. As a wrestler, his instincts would predominantly circle around protecting his core and lower body from takedown attempts. Efficient as this is, it would leave his chin alarmingly open to punishment.

At 6 feet tall and weighing in at approximately 220 lbs in his prime, Angle would’ve likely competed in the heavyweight division to start with. Considering his need to cut weight owing to his neck problems later on, a move to the light heavyweight scene might have followed.

Due to severe levels of physical wear and tear, Angle would’ve had several targets on his body for craftier fighters to pin point. There is also the problem of ego to be considered (Angle even told Vince McMahon during contract negotiations that losing a single match was not an option early on). During his 2006 negotiations with Dana White, the idea of a fight with 2004 WWE Tough Enough winner Daniel Puder was floated.

On the November 4, 2004 episode of SmackDown, two of the Tough Enough rookies got the chance to wrestle Angle for real. The first one, Chris Nawrocki, got absolutely brutalized by the Wrestling Machine. Sent packing with broken ribs, Nawrocki had just endured the worst beatdown of his young career. Up next came Daniel Puder, an MMA fighter in training outside of WWE.

Miffed with Angle’s stiff and reckless treatment of Nawrocki, Puder caught him in a kimura lock. Having not taken either man seriously, Angle was tripped up here and trapped in a potentially embarrassing (and arm-breaking) situation. Had it not been for a fast count from referee Jimmy Korderas, Angle may well’ve been put on the shelf that night.

If Angle were to have made a similar error in the octagon, the consequences could’ve been life-altering.

As a hard-grafting grappler with top-of-the-line endurance, Angle would’ve been more than a handful for anyone he fought. However, his lack of mastery in any fighting disciplines beyond wrestling, coupled with the shocking level of damage done to his neck, would’ve likely held him back and shortened his career. If Angle had managed to win heavyweight gold like old WWE pal Brock Lesnar, it’s unlikely he would’ve held it for long.

For all the latest news, updates and more from MMA, follow our Facebook page.