Cormier Gets $1 Million Bonus, Cyborg Brands Him A UFC Shill

Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

For as many fighters who have come out against Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) be it for lack of pay or other reasons, there are several combatants who work for Dana White and Co. who have nothing but good things to say about their time with the promotion.

Former UFC champ-champ, Daniel Cormier, is one of them. During a recent edition of the “DC and Helwani” show, Cormier looked back at his time with the promotion after reiterating his decision to retire from the fight game. One of the never-before-heard stories Cormier revealed was the time White and former UFC owner, Lorenzo Fertitta, gave him an undisclosed bonus of $1 million following his first loss to Jon Jones at UFC 182.

“After I had lost to Jon Jones, Lorenzo Fertitta gave me a million dollars. Him and Dana gave me a million dollars. They actually called me and said, ‘We are going to give you a million dollars for for the job that you’ve done,” he said.

“So when people say, ‘Wow you made $80 to fight Jon Jones and that was a big pay-per-view…’ No, they gave me a million dollars. I didn’t get PPV (points), I was just a challenger fighting a guy who has defended his belt all those times.”

Cormier went on to reveal he was also given an extra $400K bonus after beating Anthony Johnson at UFC 187 so he could total another $1 million payout after getting a base pay of $300K and another $300K from PPV points.

“So when people talk about ‘You’re a white knight for the UFC’ why wouldn’t I be? They changed my life.’”

But while “D.C.” was simply giving UFC its proper dues for always going the extra mile in order to take care of him financially, someone else took it as him being nothing more than a “shill.”

That person is none other than former UFC Featherweight champion, Cris Cyborg. Indeed, the fearsome striker slammed “D.C” for “being paid to shill” after hearing the praises he had for the promotion.

“When UFC moved UFC 232 from NV to CA on four days notice, they refused to compensate me for paid appearances I could no longer attend in Vegas. At UFC 240 they refused to buy my flights to the fights because I did camp in. I was the PPV co-main event. @dc_mma you’re paid to shill.”

The original tweet has since been deleted (screenshot via Bloody Elbow’s John Nash), though Cyborg did go on to throw a bit more shade at the promotion’s highly-criticized deal with Reebok.

“UFC 240, they compensated me 5K to fight in the comapny uniform,” she wrote.

Of course, Cyborg’s tumultuous relationship with UFC is well-documented, which ultimately prompted her move over to Bellator MMA, where she is the current women’s 145-pound champion.

What say you Maniacs, does Cyborg have a legit beef or just a bad case of sour grapes?