UFC president Dana White gave Daniel Cormier a $1 million bonus check after his first fight with Jon Jones.
Dana White Gifts Daniel Cormier $1 Million Bonus
Back in January of 2015 the then-undefeated Cormier suffered the first defeat of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career against Jon Jones.
Jones defeated Cormier in the main event of UFC 182 via unanimous decision to retain his light heavyweight title.
Speaking to The Pivot recently, Cormier reflected on the loss, specifically, the money he was making at the time of the bout.
Cormier revealed he was going to make around $150,000 for the title fight loss. However, UFC president Dana White wrote him a $1 million check for the pay-per-view (PPV) success.
“Back in 2015, I fought Jon Jones for the first time,” Cormier said (via MMA Junkie). “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. 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.”
Of course, Cormier would go on to become the light heavyweight champion after Jones was forced to vacate the strap due to issues outside of competition.
Cormier retired from fighting in 2020, with Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic being the only men to have ever defeated “DC” in MMA competition – the latter being at heavyweight.
Earlier this year, Cormier was inducted into the UFC Hall Of Fame after a legendary career inside of the Octagon.
