During a recent Google Hangout, Dana White announced that a mystery UFC fighter once earned $5 million to fight inside the UFC Octagon (details here, per MMA Fighting‘s David St. Martin).
White was pushed to reveal that fighter’s identity, but he remained mum on the subject.
Joe Rogan ruined all of that in a recent episode of his popular podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
Talking with UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub and comedian Bryan Callen, Rogan dished about fighter pay and all the bonuses that fighters receive on top of their reported salaries.
In doing so, Rogan let it slip that the former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre was “making $5 million a fight,” a number which aligns perfectly with White’s words during the Google Hangout.
Note: Rogan‘s mention of GSP‘s pay begins at 17:10 in the video below (some language NSFW).
GSP announced in December 2013 that he’s taking an indefinite hiatus from the sport, and he also recently tore his left ACL in training, meaning that he will be out of action for quite some time.
If Rogan‘s words are true, the Canadian superstar will be just fine from a financial standpoint during his layoff, and he can rest easy and relax until he is healed and ready to return to the cage.
What’s most interesting to me, however, is how Rogan phrased his comment about GSP‘s pay. He did not say GSP “once” earned $5 million to fight, as White did.
In the Hangout, White said, per MMA Fighting: “We paid a guy $5 million for a fight before.”
To compare, Rogan said GSP was “making $5 million a fight,” indicating a repeating, continual basis for the enormous payday.
Either way, one thing is clear: GSP is sitting pretty, and if he still feels stressed out, he can open a web browser, pull up his bank account details and admire the view.
That should cheer him up.
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