Daniel Cormier Reveals Dana White’s Seven-Figure Gift to Him After His First Fight With Jon Jones in 2015
Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones ruled the light heavyweight division for the better part of a decade. During their respective reigns as champions, both ‘DC’ and ‘Bones’ looked untouchable, clearly establishing themselves miles ahead of the competition.
However, the rivalry between ‘DC’ and ‘Bones’ is arguably one of the most, if not the most, intense rivalry the promotion has seen. The rivalry between the two crossed all possible lines, both physically and verbally as well.
In a recent interview, Daniel Cormier shared Dana White’s heart-warming gesture towards him after losing to Jon Jones the first time out. He said, “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.”
‘DC’ continued, “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. “
Daniel Cormier shares his thoughts on the fight pay situation these days in the UFC
In the interview he added, “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 went on to add that discretionary bonuses and pay increases were common from the UFC prior to their $4 Billion sale in 2016.
What do you make of Dana White’s generous gesture? Let us know in the comments below!
