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Daniel Cormier reveals seven-figure UFC payday for fighting Jon Jones

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Zain Bando | Last updated Aug 21, 2025 7:30 AM ET

Ex-UFC double champion Daniel Cormier and former two-division champion Jon Jones will forever be linked in UFC history.

Even though Cormier didn't get the nod against 'Bones,' the ex-champion-turned-color-commentator says the Jones rivalry changed his life for the better, financially.

Cormier said the UFC was a far different organization under the Zuffa regime. Even though current CEO Dana White was the front-facing leader in the promotion, it was ex-CEO Lorenzo Fertitta who had a vision for how champions should be portrayed in the public eye and treated by brass behind-the-scenes.

Daniel Cormier Shouts Out Lorenzo Fertitta For Life-Changing Money

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"Champions make money," Cormier said on "Club Shay Shay." "Lorenzo Fertitta was the best [at covering his bases for that]. When Lorenzo Fertitta was there, he would do these discretionary bonuses where [the UFC] would just give you money."

Cormier gave a prime example of Fertitta's implementation. Before the first Jones fight in January 2015, Cormier disclosed he made $85,000 just to fight the then-champion before the unthinkable took place.

Jones-Cormier 1 Was Turning Point For "DC"

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"So, when I fought Jon Jones, my contract was $85,000 [to show and win]," Cormier said. "I lost the first time [we fought]. On Monday, Dana called me and goes, 'You did a great job [promoting the fight]. We're gonna send you a check for a million dollars.'"

Cormier said from that fight onward, the pay increase kept skyrocketing, especially considering the run of dominance he rattled off before and after the second fight with Jones, eventually spanning light heavyweight and heavyweight.

Although Cormier never beat Jones, he admitted the pair needed each other to grow the UFC and MMA as a sport while the likes of Anderson Silva and Georges St.-Pierre began to fade away quickly.

"It was the first time I had ever made seven figures," Cormier said.

Now working for the promotion as a color commentator and desk analyst alongside a rapidly growing YouTube presence, Cormier doesn't regret the Jones rivalry. Steroid use or not, Cormier openly admitted Jones was simply better than him, no matter what.

"Steroids in fighting is much different than anything else in the world... you just can't have that tied to your name, especially in fighting, and people call you the greatest of all-time," Cormier said. "He's the greatest talent the sport has ever seen."

No matter how it's drawn up, the Jones-Cormier rivalry will likely be remembered as an MMA tale as old as time.

Nevertheless, it remains fun to revisit every so often, and then some.