Former UFC fighter turned MMA broadcaster Chael Sonnen revealed on his latest You’re Welcome podcast that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon once offered him $5 million to jump ship from the UFC and becoming a WWE Superstar.
“Here’s the nuts and bolts of it. I was offered $5 million by Vince McMahon… Now, I was still under contract with the UFC and I never took this to Dana. I handled it on my own. I told them ‘No’ and that was the end of that. I never told Dana White this story, but here’s why I didn’t tell him. I knew if I called Dana and said, ‘I’ve got a $5 million offer from Vince McMahon,’ Dana would have matched it.”
Sonnen explained that he didn’t tell Dana White about the offer because he didn’t want Dana to think he was trying leverage WWE and UFC against each other to get a better deal for himself.
“Dana would have come close and now all of a sudden I’m not a loyal employee,” Sonnen explained. I’m not loyal to the UFC. I’m shopping them and I’m being loyal to myself. That’s business. That’s how that works and I don’t think anyone would have had hard feelings but I didn’t see myself that way.”
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