Michael Bisping was offered the first swing at YouTube sensation Jake Paul, who instead booked an August bout with former UFC champion Tyron Woodley.
Bisping shared the details on a video podcast “Believe You Me.”
Bisping was one of the few UFC connected voices to predict Paul would defeat former UFC welterweight Ben Askren in April.
“I’m happy for him. I don’t know what he’s going to get paid, but I’ll tell you right now. I was offered $500,000 to fight Jake Paul, so I would assume it’s probably more since the fight’s happening,” Bisping said. “So good for him. He might go out there and might be getting $1 million, and I couldn’t be happier for Tyron, because he really deserves it.”
Nakisa Bidarian, who represents Paul, confirmed the offer was made to Bisping. Bisping is a commentator for UFC.
“I have nothing but respect and admiration for him and have always had a good relationship with him and his team,” Bidarian said in a prepared statement. “Jake was absolutely interested in fighting Michael Bisping and an offer was made by us. Unfortunately we could not come to terms that made sense for the event at that time.”
–Field Level Media