Daniel Cormier: 'They’re Already Getting More Money'

Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier says a major financial shift is already underway for fighters and he insists it’s a fact, not a theory. Ahead of the UFC’s highly anticipated move to Paramount. Cormier says fighters across the roster are already making more money as the promotion transitions away from the traditional pay-per-view model.

The UFC’s new media rights deal with Paramount valued at approximately $7.7 billion over seven years officially kicks off with UFC 324 on Jan. 24.

Under the new structure, pay-per-view purchases are eliminated entirely. Instead Paramount becomes a one-stop streaming destination for all UFC events. A fundamental change to the business model that has defined the promotion for decades.

While fans have debated what the shift means for event hype and promotion, Cormier says the fighters are already seeing tangible benefits.

Speaking on Weighing In alongside longtime American Kickboxing Academy teammate Josh Thomson. Cormier explained that savvy fighters and managers anticipated this change well in advance and positioned themselves accordingly.

“They’re already getting more money, that’s the difference,” Cormier said. “People always talk about, ‘What’s the UFC going to do for the fighter?’ I know guys now that are making more money than they did even when they were making pay-per-view.”

Cormier noted that while pay-per-view bonuses once generated massive payouts for select superstars, that reality has largely disappeared.

“When I was fighting Jon Jones and Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson, and having Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz on my card, I was making a boatload of money in pay-per-view,” Cormier said. “That’s not the reality of today.”