Daniel Cormier recalls Dana White sending $1 million bonus check after first Jon Jones title fight

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier says he received a hefty bonus from UFC president Dana White after his first loss with the promotion in 2015.

After winning his first four fights under the UFC banner, Cormier’s first main event with the promotion was a title fight in Las Vegas against bitter rival Jon Jones. Cormier would lose his first bid for the UFC light heavyweight title, dropping a unanimous decision to Jones at UFC 182.

While discussing the topic of fighter pay on The Pivot, Cormier revealed he was gifted a large sum the day after the fight, a number far beyond the additional $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus that was issued for the bout.

“Back in 2015, I fought Jon Jones for the first time,” Cormier said. “We had this great build. And I was making $80,000 to show up and $80,000 to win,” “I lost. So I left that arena thinking, ‘All that, and I made $80,000.’ And I made like $80,000 in sponsorship back when we could wear those patches on our shorts. So I was like, ‘Man, for all that, I’m gonna make $150,000. It’s crazy.”

Unlike today, back in 2015, the Nevada State Athletic Commission disclosed fight purse amounts. Cormier’s disclosed purse for the event was $90,000. With the FOTN, his disclosed total for the event was $140,000, but he says White added much more to his wallet, on top of other undisclosed amounts a fighter may receive from sponsorships or other discretionary bonuses.

“Dana calls me two days later,” Cormier said. “‘Hey, man, you all killed it. Numbers are out of this world.’ He goes, ‘We’re gonna send you a million dollars.’ (This is) 2015. Dude sent me a million-dollar check next day, just because he said I did a great job.”

Receiving over 11 times his base pay a day after the fight is certainly a generous gesture from the UFC boss. It was a different time for the promotion, before the $4 billion sale in 2016. Lorenzo Fertitta was still on board, and Cormier said the generosity with discretionary bonuses was frequent then. One thing that has remained the same, however, is the secrecy of how much a fighter actually takes home after each bout.

“So, they try to protect the athlete a little bit by not showing exactly what you make,” Cormier explained. “… A lot of it is hidden. And you also make money on the pay-per-view side. So if you become a guy like Conor (McGregor), like Jones, like Izzy (Adesanya) – you start selling pay-per-views, man, you get $2 a buy, $3 a buy, $4 a buy. Then that money really starts to go.”

Cormier would go on to compete in nine championship bouts after his first meeting with Jones. The second meeting at UFC 214 has since been overturned to a no contest due to Jones’ failed drug tests, an issue that still bothers Cormier to this day.

Regardless of how that outcome reads on his fight record, the former two-division champion was paid for the bout, and there’s no telling how many other checks with extra zeros he has received from then until his retirement – and that’s exactly how the UFC wants to keep it.