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Before Tiger Woods Snubbed Almost a Billion Dollar Offer, UFC Fighter, Whose Career Earnings Was Around $15 Million, Once Refused $100 Million Offer

Published 08/02/2022, 9:15 AM EDT

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The 15-time major winner Tiger Woods rejected LIV Golf’s near billion-dollar offer to jump ship from PGA Tour. The Professional Golfer Association is well established in the United States, and LIV Golf has come around lately. But it is catching the world’s attention with its lucrative offers. Chiefly, an offer of around $700-800 million to ‘Righty’.

Tiger Woods, though, has declined the offer. In the UFC, where the base sum of fighters is around $10K, it perhaps offered no one anywhere near what the 15-time major had. But the highest amount a UFC fighter refused was $100 million. Who was it and how did they end up with such an offer?

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Which fighter was UFC’s Tiger Woods?

As Woods refused $700-800 million or even $1 billion according to some reports, former UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov also did something similar to his $100 million offer. The Russian athlete had 13 appearances inside the Octagon. The Dagestan-born fighter was not only undefeated during his stint in the promotion, but was incredibly dominant.

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In a career filled with injuries and bout cancelation, Nurmagomedov finally had a stable run in the promotion towards the end of his career and won the coveted UFC championship. He defended his crown three times against the biggest threats the division presented. Yet his total purse in the 13-fight career was less than $15 million.

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Why was Khabib Nurmagomedov offered $100 million for a fight?

They presented a fighter who couldn’t get past the $10 million mark in their entire career with a $100 million offer. The reason was his popularity towards the end of his career.

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After beating Conor McGregor at UFC 229, ‘The Eagle’ flew in terms of numbers. His social media went over the roof. And he was the talk of the town. Even though he was suspended for jumping the cage after the bout, he was having a lot of attention from MMA and sports media in general.

Why did Khabib Nurmagomedov refuse a $100 million offer?

After two more bouts where he faced interim lightweight champions, Nurmagomedov announced a shocking retirement during his Octagon interview at UFC 254. He had just beat Justin Gaethje in a definitive performance. ‘The Eagle’ fell to his knees and cried out all the emotions he was holding before the bout.

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Nurmagomedov’s father had just passed during his fight camp. Thus, he had a load of losing a coach, mentor, and father. The undefeated athlete offered that his mother asked him not to continue fighting and Nurmagomedov obliged.

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His retirement was so surprising that UFC President Dana White initially tried to not believe it. However, when Nurmagomedov turned down a $100 million fight offer to compete against Floyd Mayweather, the veteran promoter knew the Nurmagomedov ship has sailed.

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Written by:

Deepak Kumar

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Deepak Kumar is a UFC author at EssentiallySports. His love for MMA comes from the chaos and violence the fight game brings to the table. A BJJ aspirant, Deepak began following the sport as a casual fan when Ronda Rousey was finishing her opponents in seconds.
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Edited by:

Paras Pande