Chael Sonnen is known for talking a big game, and this may be the tallest tale he’s told.
Sonnen said on his “You’re Welcome” podcast last week that he was once offered a $5 million contract to switch from the UFC to the WWE.
Sonnen, who retired from MMA in June after failing a random drug test, says he turned down the WWE without even consulting with UFC boss Dana White.
“Here’s the nuts and bolts of it: I was offered $5 million by [WWE promoter] Vince McMahon,” Sonnen said via MMA Fighting. “Now, I was still under contract with the UFC and I never took this to Dana. I handled it on my own. I told [WWE], ‘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 says he did not want to seem disloyal to the UFC and like he was shopping himself around. Maybe that is why the UFC gave Sonnen so many opportunities despite his multiple failed drug tests.
[Related: Sonnen paid for a wrestler he didn’t know to train in Russia]
It was not until Sonnen failed a second random drug test in June (his third overall failed drug test during his career) that FOX decided to cut ties with him as an analyst. In July, the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Sonnen for two years.
If Sonnen was offered $5 million from the WWE and turned it down, it really makes you wonder how much he was making from the UFC. It must have been a ton of money.
Also see: Chael Sonnen challenges Vince McMahon
