– UFC have apparently dropped their interest in hiring Kurt Angle. Originally, they planned to bring him in for Ultimate Fighter 5, which starts filming in January, as a wrestling coach for one of the teams whilst learning more about fighting skills at the same time. Then he would have been built up for a PPV match with Daniel Puder in June or July. Dana White said “I want guys who want to be real fighters. We had a great meeting [when Angle was in Las Vegas, staying at the Red Rock, in negotiations with UFC] and I honestly thought we had him. He’s a nice guy, but I’m not going to blur the line [between pro-wrestling and MMA]. He told me that pro-wrestling ruined his life and the next thing you know, he tells me he’s going back to pro-wrestling.” White noted that Angle informed him of how much TNA had offered him and that UFC had topped it, but that it still wasn’t enough. “They have to be paying him a boatload of money.” There are still numerous other MMA groups interested in working with Angle. According to Tokyo Sports, Sadaharu Tanigawa of Hero’s made him an offer and is trying to arrange a fight with Brock Lesnar for next year, which Angle is thought unlikely to agree to because Lesnar has a full-time dedication to fight training. Angle’s people have also turned down a $500,000 offer to fight Roger Gracie in December, not just because the date was too soon but because they want a multi-fight deal with PPV percentage. Because of this their main goal was UFC, and an offer for a fight against Frank Shamrock in World Fighter 2007 is also unlikely to be accepted. One source said “We are still working on Angle, but no luck. They are protecting him good.”
– Randy Couture has signed as a UFC ambassador for The Fight Network in Canada. He’ll be doing pre- and post-show coverage, as well as subbing for Joe Rogan to announce with Mike Goldberg when Rogan is off touring his comedy show. Couture is also working with Marc Ratner in educating athletic commissioners on MMA. Their first target is Illinois, with New York and Orlando also earmarked.
– Spike TV has added a fourth show to its Thursday night TNA/UFC block. Inside the UFC will air at midnight, debuting on 11/9. It will be a magazine show, hosted by Joe Rogan.
– UFC has also signed a deal to get Unleashed dubbed into Spanish and broadcast on Fox Sports Espanol, as part of its drive to get into the Spanish market.
– Kalib Starnes vs. Yushin Okami has been added to the 10/14 PPV. Also, Wander Braga is having visa issues and will be replaced by Junior Assancao for the fight against Kurt Pellegrino.
– Thales Leitis is off the 10/10 Spike TV special, also due to visa problems, and will be replaced by Crafton Wallace for his dark match against Nathan Marquardt.
– Dean Lister is dating WWE Diva Search finalist Milena Roucka.
Credit: Wrestling Observer newsletter (click here for subscription information)
