Chael Sonnen reveals he made more than $8,000,000 for Anderson Silva rematch back in 2012

Chael Sonnen, Anderson Silva

UFC legend Chael Sonnen claims he made over $8 million for his second fight against Anderson Silva at UFC 148. 

In their first bout at UFC 117, Silva secured a late fifth-round submission win over Sonnen to retain the middleweight title. Two years later, Sonnen suffered a second-round TKO loss to Silva. 

Chael Sonnen Says He Earned His Largest Purse at UFC 148

Despite the loss in 2012, Sonnen alleges that he made a large amount of money in his title rematch against Silva. 

The most I made was 8.8 [million] in one night. I made 8.8 the second time I fought Anderson,” Chael Sonnen said on the FLAGRANT podcast. “This was in 2012, and I will tell you, the numbers are bigger than people think they are. I’ve always wondered what [Anderson] got, he had to get more. He had to, he had to.”

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I heard rumors he was 3.2 million or 3.1 million and I’ve tried to confirm that. But then he told me a number that he thought we did on pay-per-view and it wasn’t the number we did on pay-per-views. So I don’t know how this whole thing sat, there was just a time I stopped [searching].” (Transcribed by BJPenn.com)

According to BetMGM, Anderson Silva is the fifth-highest paid UFC fighter in history. Sonnen was not listed in the top-20. In 2012, it was reported that Sonnen made a total of $50,000 while Silva made $200,000 at UFC 148.