When the UFC makes budget cuts to put a fight together, the marketing department is the first place to feel the impact. Props: jinxonhog.
According to the welterweight champion, the answer is “no.” Or rather, not nearly as much as has been rumored.
On yesterday’s edition of The MMA Beat, Mike Straka of Fight Now TV reported that a source close to the welterweight champion told him that GSP was asking the UFC for $50 million to fight Anderson Silva.
Despite the fact that St-Pierre is currently on vacation in France, he dismissed the rumor during a recent conversation with 985Sports.ca. In his own words:
“I have not been informed of this, it is not true. Nobody told me about it and I am in France now. I have not seen the article and I will not comment.”
While $50 million is downright astronomical, I have to imagine that both fighters are going to ask for a small fortune (even compared to what they’ve been making per appearance) if this fight ever comes to fruition. St-Pierre seems reluctant to accept the fight, neither fighter can agree on what weight class the fight would be held at, and by the way, this fight is going to make a ton of money for the UFC. If it’s going to happen, it’s not going to be cheap.
Eh, who am I kidding? We’ve been talking about this fight since the rumored Pacquiao vs. Mayweather bout wasn’t just a punchline. I can’t be the only person feeling this way, right guys?