Mike Tyson Isn’t Owed a Dime From Hulu According to Chael Sonnen; ‘He Sold His Rights Years Ago’

Former UFC and Bellator star Chael Sonnen says that Mike Tyson sold the rights to his story years ago and the streaming service is not obligated to pay him anything for their 'Mike' series

Mike Tyson
Courtesy of Chael Sonnen on YouTube and @MikeOnHulu on Twitter

Mike Tyson became the subject of an original television series produced by Hulu. The series was recently released on August 25th, but prior to that, the former heavyweight boxing champion was calling out the streaming service for neglecting to pay him a dime for his likeness or life story. 

The series, simply titled ‘Mike’ tells the story of ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson’s journey to combat sports greatness and his fall from grace while in the prime of his career. The boxing icon called Hulu “the streaming version of the slave master” and added claims that the streamer “stole my life story.” 

Taking Issue with Mike Tyson’s comments is former three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen. In a recent episode of ‘Beyond the Fight‘ on YouTube, Sonnen says that Hulu was not obligated to pay Tyson anything as the boxer already sold off the rights to his life story. 

“‘Iron’ Mike is very upset that it’s his life’s story and that he was not paid for that. He’s very upset. He went on Greta Van Susteran yesterday. I’m a fan of Greta. I’ve been watching her for years. But Greta has Mike on and Mike tells this story and Greta says ‘What are you going to do?’ And Mike says, ‘There’s nothing that I can do.’ And Greta says, ‘Well, I have a real problem with that Mike.’ I can see it would be frustrating that someone would use your likeness and tell your story and not pay you. She agreed with him and then they went off air.

“Now, if somebody feels that they were slighted or shafted, I think we should include the part of the story that Mike has left out. He sold his rights years ago. I would not have an opportunity to go and negotiate this with Mike because he doesn’t own them. I would be in legal breach. I would have to deal with the person who owns it, just so you understand. These aren’t Chael’s rules. That’s the law.”

Chael Sonnen is No Fan of Mike Tyson

This is certainly not the first time that Chael Sonnen has had something negative to say about Mike Tyson. The ‘American Gangster’ previously accused Tyson of stealing money out of his and everyone else’s pocket that paid to see him face Lennox Lewis in 2002.

“Mike Tyson and I don’t get along – and I don’t know that we have a big beef – but in all fairness, he’d rather not see me and I’d rather not see him. But it all predicates on him stealing $50 from me and all of you.”

The fight between Tyson and Lewis was largely sold on the animosity between the two fighters. Tyson later admitted to fabricating the feud to sell tickets.

“He fought Lennox Lewis and he’s a thief for doing it… And then he comes out after the fight, grabs the microphone before he even leaves the ring and says, ‘That was all for promotion, I love this guy.'”

Published on September 5, 2022 at 3:26 pm
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