Wesley Snipes, movie star famed for his roles in “Blade” and “Demolition Man,” found himself in financial trouble with the IRS back in the day.

Facing a staggering $23.5 million tax bill for the years 2001-2006, Snipes tried to negotiate, offering a mere $850,000.
However, this was swiftly rejected, and US Tax Court Judge Kathleen Kerrigan ordered him to pay a reduced sum of $9.5 million.

So, Snipes considered challenging Jean-Claude Van Damme to a fight to raise funds.
However, UFC co-creator Campbell McClaren had a different opponent in mind: Joe Rogan.

Rogan, a seasoned martial artist, shared what happened in a Joe Rogan Experience episode:

I was supposed to fight Wesley Snipes. That was real. Lawyers were in negotiation.
I was training twice a day for six months. It was f*cking hard. I was so tired all the time and I only got a taste of what it’s like to train like an MMA fighter.

I was training knowing that the fight was eventually going to take place so I was building up a base.
I was kickboxing every morning and then I was doing Jiu-Jitsu every night and I was doing it for six months.

However, Snipes seemed to reconsider after learning about Rogan’s martial arts background:

I think it’s because he knew I was going to k*ll him.

I think in the beginning he thought that he would be able to stuff takedowns and he would kick my ass.
Then he found out that I’m a taekwondo champion. I’m a kickboxer. I’m way better at standing up than I am on the ground.

There was also the issue of various demands:

I don’t know what happened. There’s a bunch of different demands.

At first, it was going to be 50/50 and then he wanted it to be 60/40 and I agreed to everything.
Then finally, it was like: “Just give me this amount of money and give him whatever the f*ck else you want. I’m gonna f*cking strangle that guy.”

And it never happened.