Daniel Cormier Reportedly Made Massive Sum To Save UFC 230

Daniel Cormier won the UFC heavyweight title by defeating Stipe Miocic in the main event of last July’s UFC 226. Afterward, he repeatedly stated his plans to fight Brock Lesnar and retire this year.

However, the promotion leveled an offer he couldn’t refuse when they were struggling to find a solid main event for last November’s UFC 230 from New York. Cormier was dealing with some injuries, including a hand injury from fighting Miocic and a back injury he acquired by sneezing. Those left him planning on not fighting again in 2018 as a result.

The UFC’s offer to fight Derrick Lewis was simply too great to pass up, and now we see why. According to a report from Dave Meltzer (via Bloody Elbow), Cormier made a staggering $4 million for his second-round submission of “The Black Beast.”

Although it was a somewhat high-profile card being that it took place at Madison Square Garden, UFC 230 didn’t sell all that well on pay-per-view. It brought in a reported 250,000 buys at $54.99 to $64.99 apiece. That’s still good enough for it to turn a tidy profit for the UFC, however. The card also had a $2,841,718 live gate.

If the report of Cormier’s massive payday proves true, it would seemingly be a substantial jump from his UFC 226 pay for defeating Miocic. There, he earned a reported $500,000 and a cut of the pay-per-view. The New York State Athletic Commission does not release official athlete salaries, so it’s not official. Cormier could have made $4 million and a cut of the pay-per-view, or his total take could have been $4 million.

Either way, it’s not a bad payday for less than two rounds of work.