Daniel Cormier reveals the staggering amount UFC paid him 'under the table' after losing to Jon Jones
While many fighters have had disputes with the UFC, Daniel Cormier isn't one of them. Daniel Cormier has always had a good relationship with the UFC, going back to the ownership of the Fertitta brothers.
Daniel Cormier has been with the UFC since 2013 and in 2015, he received his first crack at the gold in what would turn into the biggest grudge rivalry of his career - against Jon Jones.
The first time Daniel Cormier fought Jon Jones, there was an intense rivalry leading up to it. And Jon Jones ended up handing Daniel Cormier the first loss of his career as he beat him by unanimous decision.
Despite being the title challenger and losing, Daniel Cormier told Ariel Helwani on The DC & Helwani Show that the UFC paid him a million dollars under the table after he lost to Jon Jones in their first meeting at UFC 182:
"After I lost to [Jon] Jones, Lorenzo Ferttita gave me a million dollars. Him and Dana gave me a million dollars. They actually called me and said 'We're going to give you a million dollars, DC, for the job that you've done'. So when people say 'Daniel Cormier made $80,000 to fight Jon Jones'- no they gave me a million dollars. I didn't get pay-per-view [buys]."
Daniel Cormier added that when he defeated Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson to claim the Light Heavyweight title, the UFC topped off his PPV buy-rate with another bonus under the table:
"I was becoming the UFC Champion. And you know what happened after I beat [Anthony] Rumble Johnson? I won the belt and I got $300,000 for the PPV [buys] and you know what they did after that? They gave me $400,000 to make sure that I made a million dollars."
Daniel Cormier's relationship with the UFC
It's clear how good Daniel Cormier's relationship with the UFC is. President Dana White once said that he wouldn't mind if Daniel Cormier were the Champion forever.
Daniel Cormier even defended the UFC over fighter pay when his former rival Jon Jones had criticized the organization after they weren't on the same page over the amount he demanded. That was perhaps one of the few times that Daniel Cormier was criticized by fans.