WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle spoke on his podcast about UFC President Dana White offering him a fight with Tough Enough winner Daniel Puder back in 2006, a request that the Olympic Hero eventually turned down. Hear his full thoughts on the subject in the highlights below.
Says UFC President Dana White offered him a fight against Daniel Puder:
“(Dana White) wasn’t very specific on saying ‘we’re going to protect you’, but the opponent that he gave me at the beginning was a good opponent. Very intriguing from a public interest standpoint, especially from a pro wrestling fan standpoint. Very intriguing because he didn’t have a lot of experience in MMA, he only fought a couple times, but I had a little episode with him in the WWE. That was Daniel Puder, and when Dana said that to me I said, ‘Are you serious? Daniel Puder, that’s all?’ Not that I thought Daniel Puder was easy because he actually had my arm trapped and he would have broken my arm when we did our little episode on SmackDown. I just knew that I could beat Daniel Puder.”
On working with Puder in WWE:
“Especially if I rested and let my neck heal. When I worked with Daniel Puder in WWE, I just got back from my neck surgery and my arms were so weak, I couldn’t do five pushups, really vulnerable. Not sure why the WWE had me get in the ring with Daniel Puder knowing my condition, but they did. I ended up getting caught in a situation that could’ve turned ugly, but fortunately, Daniel pinned himself and he was on his back just like a Jiu Jitsu guy would be.”
Says Puder would have been a formidable opponent:
“I was excited about the first fight, Daniel Puder, a formidable opponent for me at that particular time, not too overbearing. It was a good starting fight for me. I knew Dana was caring about my career in MMA because he was giving me an opponent that I could possibly beat.”
(H/T and transcribed by WrestleTalk)