"That night was when I fell in love with the sport" - Daniel Cormier reveals how watching Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin live made him pursue UFC gold
![Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin @ UFC101 (left) [Image courtesy of UFC Youtube account.] and Daniel Cormier (right)](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/08/3433b-16601314973892-1920.jpg?w=500)
Daniel Cormier has revealed that he has Anderson Silva to thank for inspiring him to chase a UFC world title.
On the latest episode of ESPN MMA's DC & RC show, Cormier spoke about how witnessing the iconic fight between Anderson Silva and Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 live motivated him to want to be a UFC champion.
Cormier said that while watching the fight, he realized that he had truly fallen in love with mixed martial arts. He had never been to a UFC event before, and the experience of close-up action gave Cormier a taste of what being a UFC champion could mean.
"This was the night I fell in love with mixed martial arts. This night, was the first night I went to a live UFC event. It was in Philadelphia, and I went with Mike DiSabato from CageFighter, this company that sponsored me early in my career. And I watched Anderson Silva do something I never could have imagined."
Watch the full episode below:
It's perhaps incredible that the fight that got so many people into MMA is the same one that inspired Daniel Cormier to want to achieve greatness.
Daniel Cormier speaks on the generosity of Dana White
Daniel Cormier has pulled the veil back on Dana White's generous nature by telling a story about receiving a hefty check following his first loss to Jon Jones.
Cormier appeared on The Pivot Podcast and detailed how the UFC supported him back in 2015. 'DC' was fighting Jones for the first time, and disclosed that he was set to make $80,000 to show and $80,000 to win. Cormier lost and was therefore only entitled to one portion of his fighter pay.
'DC' claimed to make an additional $80,000 through sponsors for the fight, totalling his earnings at rougly $160,000. However, Cormier was then contacted by Dana White and told that he would be receiving a $1 million check as well.
"I was making $80,000 to show up, and $80,000 to win. I lost, so I left that arena thinking, 'Man, all that and I made $80,000.' And I made like $80,000 in sponsorships on that night, back when we could wear those patches on our shorts. So for all that I'm gonna make $150,000. Crazy. Then Dana calls me two days later saying, 'Hey man, you killed it. The numbers are out of this world. We're gonna send you a million dollars.' The dude sent me a millon-dollar check the next day."
Watch the full podcast episode below: