MMA Fighters
Chuck Liddell Net Worth

Net Worth: | $12 Million |
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Age: | 55 |
Born: | December 17, 1969 |
Gender: | Male |
Height: | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
Country of Origin: | United States of America |
Source of Wealth: | Professional MMA Fighter |
Last Updated: | Oct 23, 2025 |
Introduction
Chuck Liddell is an American former MMA fighter with an estimated net worth of $12 Million.
Former UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion, Chuck Liddell, was the face of the promotion in its early years, helping build popularity and growth for the UFC in times of struggle. During the peak of his career, Liddell often earned six figures per fight, before considering his additional income from pay-per-view bonuses. The Iceman technically retired in 2010 with a record of 21 wins and nine losses.
The profile details Chuck Liddell’s success, net worth, known fight purses, assets, and other events that have impacted his finances, including his divorce from Heidi Northcott in 2025.
Quick Facts
- Typically earned a base purse of between $250,000 and $500,000 per fight
- Paid a one-time, $771,000 settlement to his ex-wife, Heidi
- Currently pays approximately $5,000 per month in child support
- Sold his Hidden Hills property for $5.58 million in 2024
Before Wealth & Fame
As a teenager, Liddell was a four-year starter on the San Marcos High School football team, playing center and linebacker. Aside from football, he was also part of the wrestling team and excelled at the sport. While growing up in Santa Barbara, Chuck often hung around Del Playa Drive, which was right in the centre of the party scene in the college town of Isla Vista. He frequently found himself fighting with drunk college students while spending time there.
Liddell became a Division I wrestler at California Polytechnic State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Business/Accounting. He holds an amateur kickboxing record of 20 wins and two losses, 16 of which were knockout wins. When Liddell began his MMA career, he started training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Jon Lewis in Las Vegas, Nevada.
MMA Career
With his impressive background as a football player and wrestler in college, Chuck Liddell brought this experience to mixed martial arts in the late 1990s. At the peak of his professional career, he would be favorably compared to some of the highest-paid athletes in the world and become a fan favorite in the sport. Like other successful MMA fighters, Liddell also made numerous appearances in movies and television shows of various genres.
Early Career In The UFC
Chuck Liddell began his career with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1998, when the sport of mixed martial arts was in its infancy. Quickly dominating his weight class, he would become one of the key figures in popularizing the combat sport for a new generation of fans.
Many of his early fights against Randy Couture gained widespread attention from the sporting media, beginning with their first fight in 2002. Having established a strong reputation with his matches against fighters including Vitor Belfort and Jeff Monson, he faced Couture in 2002. While Liddell lost this fight, he returned to form later that year in his fight against Tito Ortiz, beating him by an impressive KO.
Liddell continued to enjoy many successes throughout the early to mid-2000s while also becoming a coach on the Ultimate Fighter’s inaugural season in 2005.
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Victory
That year, he once again faced Randy Couture, and his victory made him the new UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Praised by the likes of Joe Rogan for his win, Liddell went on to defend his title with another victory against the fighter Jeremy Horn at UFC 54. The following year, Liddell and Couture squared off in the octagon for their third fight, with Liddell once again taking the win through a technical knockout.
Liddell’s winning streak continued over the subsequent two years, defeating Renato Sobral in 2006 in the most successful UFC contest to date. Finishing the year with another victory against Tito Ortiz at the UFC 66 event, Liddell won the bout in the third round, defeating Ortiz via TKO.
Declining Career From 2007
While Liddell’s winning streak made him one of the most notable fighters in mixed martial arts, his fortunes declined from 2007 onwards. This decline began with his loss against Quinton Jackson at UFC 71, which resulted in a title loss and would lead to future failures in the sport.
Later, in 2007, Liddell lost by split decision to Keith Jardine, representing the first time he had experienced consecutive losses in his career. While he defeated Wanderlei Silva at the UFC 79 event, additional losses against Rashad Evans and Mauricio Rua signaled his inevitable retirement.
Retirement & Return To The UFC
Although UFC founder Dana White expressed his view that Liddell should no longer fight, he nevertheless returned to fight against Rich Franklin in 2010. Franklin defeated Liddell, knocking the one-time champion unconscious and leading Liddell to deliver an emotional post-fight speech. After being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2009, Liddell opted to retire that year.
Despite taking a significant break from mixed martial arts, Liddell fought in his final bout in 2018, when Tito Ortiz defeated him again. Having been knocked out in the first round, Liddell’s career as an MMA fighter finally came to a definitive end in 2020.
UFC Earnings
Several reports suggest that Chuck Liddell earned approximately $4.32 million during his UFC career, before considering sponsorship and pay-per-view bonuses. In fact, Celebrity Net Worth suggests that Liddell’s career earnings could have potentially exceeded $20 million. However, they haven’t provided any specific figures related to his earnings.
While it’s rare for the paychecks of UFC fighters to be disclosed publicly, we did find information relating to several of The Iceman’s fights. This includes two paydays in 2006, totalling $500,000. When Liddell fought Randy Couture at UFC 57, he earned $250,000, followed by another $250,000 purse for his fight with Tito Ortiz at UFC 66. At UFC 115 in 2010, Liddell earned $500,000 for his final UFC fight and loss to Rich Franklin.
Film & Television Career
In addition to his impressive career and track record as a fighter, Chuck Liddell has appeared in many successful Hollywood movies. In 2003, he made an uncredited appearance as a cage fighter in the Jet Li action movie, Cradle 2 the Grave, co-starring DMX and Tom Arnold. He continued to appear in minor roles in a string of films throughout the 2000s, including The Death and Life of Bobby 2 and Bachelor Party Vegas.
Liddell’s acting career reached new heights in 2013 when he performed as himself alongside Jim Carrey in the hit comedy Kick-Ass 2. He has since consistently appeared in many action films, including War Pigs, in which he played Sergeant McGreevy, and Acceleration.
Chuck Liddell has complemented his big screen roles with several appearances on television shows over the years, beginning with 2006’s Blade: The Series. The following year, he appeared in a single episode of Entourage and later voiced a character in the Matt Groening animated comedy The Simpsons. Liddell has also made guest appearances in shows such as Blue Mountain State, Hawaii Five-0, and Bones, frequently playing himself.
In 2023, Liddell starred as a houseguest in Celebrity Big Brother, also appearing in an episode of The Eric Andre Show, titled “Football is Back.”
Divorce Settlement
Chuck Liddell was married to Heidi Northcott for over a decade, and the couple has three children together. However, in late 2021, Chuck was arrested in Los Angeles for domestic violence, but claimed he was “the victim of the incident” and voluntarily went with the police. Just days later, he filed for divorce.
The divorce wasn’t finalized until April 2025, almost four years after the initial filing. As per the divorce settlement, Liddell paid a lump sum of $771,000 to Heidi and agreed to pay $5,000 per month in child support for their two children under the age of 18. Chuck also set aside $700,000 for the children to receive private school education and funds to pay for college tuition fees.
Regarding the couple’s assets, they were essentially split down the middle. Chuck retained his company, Escalade, and several guns. Heidi retained her companies, BMW, and guns. Overall, the settlement totaled $1.47 million, plus at least an additional $240,000 in child support until his daughter Guinevere turns 18.
Real Estate
San Luis Obispo Home
In August 2006, Chuck paid $1.275 million for a 4,600-square-foot, five-bedroom home in San Luis Obispo, California. He put the property back on the market in May 2011, with an asking price of $1.1 million, and it eventually sold for $1.2 million in July.
Hidden Hills Home
In January 2012, The Iceman paid $2.6 million for a 5,774-square-foot, five-bedroom home in Hidden Hills, California. After his separation from Heidi Liddell, according to public records, Heidi (a licensed real estate agent) listed the property for sale. It sold for $5.58 million in March 2024.
MMA Fighters
Ronda Rousey Net Worth

Net Worth: | $16 Million |
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Age: | 38 |
Born: | February 1, 1987 |
Gender: | Female |
Height: | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) |
Country of Origin: | United States of America |
Source of Wealth: | Professional MMA Fighter/Actor |
Last Updated: | Oct 23, 2025 |
Introduction
Ronda Rousey is an American former professional MMA fighter, judoka, and actress with an estimated net worth of $16 Million.
In a six-year professional mixed martial arts career, Ronda Rousey fought 14 times and retired with a record of 12-2-0. She fought eight times in the UFC, winning six fights by first-round armbar submission. She earned approximately $17.8 million, which translates to an average of $2.225 million per fight.
Quick Facts
- Earned an estimated $17.8 million during her UFC career
- Received a salary of $1.5 million per year in the WWE
- Currently selling her home in Venice, California, for $1.83 million
Net Worth History
When we first began tracking Ronda Rousey’s net worth in 2019, she was worth an estimated $12 million. However, this was already after her time with the UFC had concluded. By this point, she’d already earned almost $18 million during her MMA career, excluding additional income from sponsorships and ventures outside of the sport.
In recent years, the increase in Ronda’s net worth is primarily due to her WWE contract, reportedly paying her a base salary of $1.5 million per year. As a result, her net worth has continued to increase, reaching an estimated $13 million by 2021 and $14 million in 2023. At the time of writing, we believe Ronda’s net worth is somewhere in the realm of $16 Million. This will likely change significantly once she receives her share of the UFC antitrust settlement.
Early Career
Rousey first began training in Judo at the age of 11, and her mother taught her. At the age of 17, Ronda qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games, where she became the youngest judoka to compete. The same year, she won a gold medal at the World Junior Judo Championships. Rousey went on to win many more medals in judo, but at 21, she quit the sport to pursue MMA as her new career. While primarily training in mixed martial arts, she held various jobs, including waitressing and bartending.
MMA Career
When Ronda Rousey first began competing as an MMA fighter, the female divisions of such competitions were in their very early stages. As such, the competition was of a much lower standard than it is today. This was very similar to the men’s divisions in the early 2000s, when people were still experimenting with various fighting styles.
Rousey possessed a skill set that few other women did at the time, being a former judo Olympian. As it turned out, this would translate perfectly into mixed martial arts. Ronda began competing in the Strikeforce organization and won all four of her fights by armbar submission in the first round.
In 2012, the UFC acquired Strikeforce, bringing many of its top talents with it, and established the UFC female bantamweight division. Since Rousey was the Strikeforce champion at the time, her first fight in the UFC was for the bantamweight belt against Liz Carmouche. Naturally, she got the job done with her gold standard first-round armbar submission and became the UFC’s first female bantamweight champion.
Between 2013 and 2015, Rousey defended her title successfully on five separate occasions, three of which were over in under 30 seconds. However, Rousey had become an icon in female mixed martial arts, and in the mid-2010s, talented female competitors were beginning to make their way into the UFC’s ranks.
The first was Holly Holm, who fought Ronda in November 2015, winning by a head kick knockout. Next, in December 2016, came Amanda Nunes, known for her impressive striking and raw power. Nunes knocked out Rousey in just 48 seconds of the first round, showcasing just how much the level of competition had increased in a few years.
Fight Earnings
Year | Opponent | Salary |
---|---|---|
2013 | Liz Carmouche | $574,720 |
2013 | Miesha Tate | $1,817,907 |
2014 | Sara McMann | $870,969 |
2014 | Alexis Davis | $1,063,688 |
2015 | Cat Zingano | $1,458,282 |
2015 | Bethe Correia | $2,642,204 |
2015 | Holly Holm | $4,476,662 |
2016 | Amanda Nunes | $4,879,766 |
Total Career Earnings: | $17,784,198 |
As part of a class-action lawsuit against the UFC, several paychecks of the organization’s star talent were made public, including those of Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, and Ronda Rousey. In fact, in Rousey’s case, every single one of her UFC fight earnings was revealed. Unfortunately, no specifics were revealed regarding the pay structure, but it would likely have been a combination of pay-to-show, pay-to-win, and PPV shares.
For her first fight in the UFC, she earned approximately $574,720 for defeating Liz Carmouche. This was followed by $1.82 million for defeating Miesha Tate for a second time. In 2014, she fought twice, earning $870,969 for beating Sara McMann and $1.06 million for defeating Alexis Davis.
With three fights in 2015, Rousey earned $1.46 million against Cat Zingano and $2.64 million for her final UFC victory against Bethe Correia. For her loss to Holly Holm, she earned an estimated $4.5 million. For her final UFC bout, against Nunes, she earned $4.88 million. This brings her total UFC earnings to approximately $17.78 million.
WWE Salary
After hanging up her gloves in the mid-2010s, Ronda transitioned into professional wrestling, signing a full-time contract with the WWE in February 2018. Reports suggest that the agreement had a lifespan of between three and five years. She earned an estimated annual base salary of $1.5 million. However, this doesn’t include additional income from event appearances, speaking gigs, and merchandising revenues.
It appears that Ronda was under this contract for at least four years, between 2018 and 2022, potentially earning a total base salary of $6 million.
UFC Antitrust Settlement
Rousey is among more than 1,000 professional MMA fighters who will receive compensation from the UFC’s Antitrust lawsuit, which was resolved in early 2025.
In late 2014, UFC fighters, including Cung Le, Nate Quarry, and Jon Fitch, accused the UFC’s then-parent company, Zuffa LLC, of anticompetitive practices. The fighters alleged that between 2010 and 2017, Zuffa LLC had stopped them from making their own deals or using competition between fight promoters to negotiate higher pay.
After more than ten years of court hearings and gathering evidence, a Nevada judge finally approved the $375 million settlement in February 2025. The outcome was the first major legal victory for MMA athletes. After deducting attorney fees, administrative costs, and taxes, roughly $251 million remained for the fighters. Although Rousey was not one of the original plaintiffs, the settlement ultimately covered all UFC fighters who fought during the period. The payouts were calculated based on the amount each fighter earned and how many times they fought between December 16, 2010, and June 30, 2017. Each fighter received roughly one-third of their total earnings from those years, along with an additional payment of about $14,000 for each fight.
As a result of the hearing, several fighters’ earnings were made public, including all the compensation Rousey received during the qualifying period. While some of the smallest payments could be around $16,000, the biggest names will receive far more. For example, it is reported that Anderson Silva might receive up to $10.3 million, Conor McGregor around $9 million, and Rousey approximately $6 million from the settlement; however, these figures have not been confirmed.
Real Estate
In June 2014, Rousey paid $1.42 million for an 868-square-foot, single-story home in Venice, California. She recently listed the property for sale in August 2024, with an asking price of $1.9 million. In September, the price was reduced to $1.825 million, and the property is still for sale.
MMA Fighters
Jon Bones Jones Net Worth

Net Worth: | $3 Million |
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Age: | 38 |
Born: | July 19, 1987 |
Gender: | Male |
Height: | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) |
Country of Origin: | United States of America |
Source of Wealth: | Professional MMA Fighter |
Last Updated: | Oct 22, 2025 |
Introduction
Jon Jones is an American professional MMA fighter with an estimated net worth of $3 Million.
Jones is a former UFC Light-Heavyweight and Heavyweight Champion, with many considering him the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time. While his career has been highly controversial, suffering setbacks from legal issues and suspensions for banned substance use, his only loss in the cage was due to a disqualification from an illegal elbow strike.
Jon was the most dominant UFC light heavyweight champion of all time, winning fourteen title fights over a ten-year period. Despite this, he has never been inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame due to his numerous legal issues and controversies.
Quick Facts
- Earned at least $15 million during his UFC career
- Net worth has been negatively affected by numerous arrests/legal issues.
- Allegedly turned down a $30 million offer to fight Tom Aspinall
- Will receive a settlement from the UFC of between $6 million and $7 million
- Highest-recorded purse of $3.64 million against Daniel Cormier (rematch)
- Sold his 4,406-square-foot home in Ithaca, New York, for $713,000
Before Wealth & Fame
Growing up in New York, Jon Jones came from an athletically gifted family. His two brothers, Arthur and Chandler, were both professional NFL players. Jon was the smallest of the Jones brothers, and whilst he played football in high school, wrestling was where he shone the most. He was an NJCAA national champion in college, but later dropped out to pursue a career in mixed martial arts.
While pursuing his MMA career, Jones worked as a bouncer at Doo-Z’s nightclub in Ithaca, New York, and briefly as a high school janitor.
UFC Career
In 2008, at the age of 21, Jon Jones was signed to the UFC. He won his first two fights against Andre Gusmao and Stephan Bonnar by unanimous decision. After submitting Jake O’Brien in his third UFC fight, Jones then fought Matt Hamill, where he suffered his only career loss due to disqualification for an illegal elbow.
From 2010 onwards, Jones never lost a fight and officially won the UFC light-heavyweight championship in 2011 against Mauricio Shogun Rua. He defended the light-heavyweight belt numerous times against legends such as Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, and Chael Sonnen.
Stripped of the Belt
In 2015, after winning his first fight against Daniel Cormier, Jones was involved in a hit-and-run incident in Albuquerque, New Mexico, injuring a pregnant woman and fleeing the scene. The UFC stripped him of the light-heavyweight title and suspended him indefinitely.
He won his first fight back in the UFC in April 2016 against Ovince Saint Preux for the interim light-heavyweight belt. However, he was stripped of the belt once again after testing positive for clomiphene and letrozole ahead of his scheduled rematch with Daniel Cormier. A year later, Jones won the second fight against Cormier, but the decision was later overturned due to testing positive for Turinabol. This would be the third time the UFC stripped Jones of his belt.
In 2018, Jones reclaimed the belt after beating Alexander Gustafsson for a second time. He successfully defended the belt three times against Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos, and Dominick Reyes before vacating the belt in 2020 due to pay disputes with UFC President Dana White.
Heavyweight Division
In 2023, Jones returned to the sport, moving up a weight class to submit Ciryl Gane in the first round at UFC 285 and win the UFC heavyweight championship. He recently defended the belt in November 2024 against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309.
Fight Earnings
Year | Opponent | Salary |
---|---|---|
2013 | Rashad Evans | $2,278,553 |
2013 | Vitor Belfort | $1,566,196 |
2014 | Chael Sonnen | $2,570,000 |
2014 | Alexander Gustafsson | $1,173,560 |
2015 | Glover Teixeira | $1,237,880 |
2015 | Daniel Cormer | $3,637,500 |
2015 | Ovince St. Preux | $2,677,530 |
Total Career Earnings: | $15,321,219 |
Jon Jones has been actively competing in the UFC for almost twenty years, during which time the fighter’s pay structure has undergone numerous changes. The UFC is also known for not disclosing individual fighter pay unless the state where the event occurred requires public disclosure. However, in recent years, a class action lawsuit has been filed against the company, leading to the public disclosure of the salaries of several top fighters. This includes that of Ronda Rousey, Conor McGregor, and Jon Jones.
According to the documents, in 2012, Jones earned $2.28 million for defeating Rashad Evans and $1.57 million for submitting Vitor Belfort. The following year, he reportedly earned $2.75 million from his bout with Chael Sonnen and $1.17 million for defeating Alexander Gustafsson. In 2014, he earned $1.24 million for beating Glover Teixeira. A year later, for his first fight with DC, he was paid approximately $3.64 million, the highest salary of his career to date. Finally, he received $2.68 million in 2016 for defeating Ovince St. Preux.
This amounts to approximately $15.3 million in total, but it does leave a lot to the imagination. Since the St. Preux fight, Jones has fought seven more times for the UFC, likely earning significantly higher sums.
Tom Aspinal Fight Offer
The word on the street is that Jon Jones was offered as much as $30 million to fight the then-interim UFC Heavyweight Champion, Tom Aspinal; however, nothing ever materialized. This was the fight that fans wanted to see, but Jones retired (temporarily) before a matchup could take place.
UFC Anti-Trust Settlement
At the end of 2025, more than 1,200 current/former professional UFC fighters are set to receive a settlement as part of the antitrust lawsuit filed against the organization over a decade ago. The suit alleged that the UFC violated antitrust laws in the United States by monopolizing the MMA market and intentionally suppressing the pay of its talent.
Last year, the UFC, without admitting any wrongdoing, agreed to settle the lawsuit for $335 million. This will be split among the 1,200 athletes who competed for the promotion between December 16, 2010, and June 30, 2017. According to reports, Jon Jones is set to receive the second-highest payout (roughly between $6 million and $7 million), behind Anderson Silva‘s $10.3 million settlement.
Individual settlements will vary depending on how active the fighter was during this period and their relative popularity. In other words, champions headlining high-selling PPV events will receive higher compensation per event.
Legal Issues & Lawsuits
Jones has faced numerous legal issues and lawsuits during his MMA career. In May 2012, he was arrested for a DWI after crashing his Bentley Continental GT into a utility pole in Binghamton, New York. Jones pleaded guilty, received a six-month license suspension, was fined $1,000, and was ordered to pay $6,563.62 to the New York State Electric and Gas Corporation for damages to the pole.
Hit-and-Run Arrest
Three years later, in April 2015, Jones was involved in a hit-and-run in Albuquerque, New Mexico. According to police reports, Jones ran a red light and hit a car driven by Vanessa Sonnenberg, whose vehicle then crashed into another car. Sonnenberg was pregnant at the time of the incident and suffered a broken arm and other minor injuries. After the crash, Jones left the scene, but the next day he turned himself in to the police. On September 29, 2015, Jones pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months of supervised probation. The UFC stripped Jones of his light heavyweight title, suspended him, and removed him from the main event at UFC 187. The suspension lasted seven months, after which Jones returned to fight Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 197 on April 23, 2016.
Battery Arrests
Several years after the hit-and-run accident, in July 2019, Jones was accused of battery. A cocktail waitress at TD’s Eubank Showclub in Albuquerque, New Mexico, alleged that Jones slapped and kissed her and attempted to wrestle her at the bar. Jones pleaded no contest to the disorderly conduct charge, meaning he didn’t admit guilt but accepted the conviction and received a 90-day deferred sentence under unsupervised probation.
In another incident in September 2021, just hours after his induction into the UFC Hall of Fame, Jones was arrested in Las Vegas. He was staying at Caesars Palace with his fiancée, Jessie Moses, when one of their children asked a security guard to call the police. When the police arrived, Moses was found crying with blood on her face, and so the police arrested Jones for domestic battery. However, Jones then became angry during the arrest, headbutted a police car, and was then charged with tampering with a vehicle. Though the domestic violence charge was dropped, Jones was ordered to pay $750 for damage to the car and agreed to complete anger management counseling.
Alleged Assault
Three years later, on March 30, 2024, Jones was visited at his Albuquerque home for a surprise drug test. When the anti-doping officials arrived, Jones became upset as he struggled to give a urine sample. According to agent Crystal Martinez, Jones took her phone and threatened her aggressively. Martinez filed charges against Jones, and he was summoned to appear in court, where he pleaded not guilty.
The court agreed to a deal where Jones would attend anger management courses, and if he avoided arrest or legal trouble for the next 90 days, the case would be dismissed. Despite his numerous arrests and legal issues, Jones consistently returned to professional fighting, with his net worth remaining largely unaffected by the allegations against him.
Real Estate
In March 2012, Jones paid $644,500 for a 4,406-square-foot, four-bedroom home in Ithaca, New York. The property featured an oversized three-car garage, which Jones used as a home gym. In November 2016, he listed the house for sale at $750,000, which sold in May of the following year for $713,000.
MMA Fighters
Daniel Cormier Net Worth
Daniel Cormier is a former amateur wrestler that became one of the richest and most successful MMA fighters in the world.

Net Worth: | $6 Million |
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Age: | 46 |
Born: | March 20, 1979 |
Gender: | Male |
Height: | 1.8 m |
Country of Origin: | United States of America |
Source of Wealth: | Professional MMA Fighter |
Last Updated: | Oct 22, 2025 |
Introduction
Daniel Cormier is an American former professional MMA fighter with an estimated net worth of $6 Million.
Cormier won both the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship and Heavyweight Championship. He was also a collegiate champion in his folkstyle wrestling career and won titles with three other professional promotions.
Net Worth History
During the middle of his career, Daniel Cormier was still receiving government assistance as he couldn’t pay all of his bills. Things would then change as he entered the title scene, becoming a millionaire and one of the wealthiest fighters in the UFC.
Here’s a breakdown of Daniel Cormier’s annual net worth:
- 2013 – $650,000
- 2014 – $1 Million
- 2015 – $3 Million
- 2016 – $3.5 Million
- 2017 – $5.5 Million
- 2018 – $7 Million
- 2019 – $7.5 Million
- 2020 – $8 Million
- 2021 – $8 Million
- 2022 – $8 Million
Before Wealth & Fame
Daniel Cormier trained in amateur wrestling, won three state championships, and was named to the all-state team for football. He continued his wrestling career in college, starting at Colby Community College before transferring to Oklahoma State University, where he became one of the best in the NCAA.
Cormier began a senior career in freestyle wrestling and won six consecutive gold medals at the US National Championship, and was a US Olympic wrestler in 2004 and 2008 before heading into mixed martial arts.
MMA Career
Daniel Cormier started his professional MMA career with a technical knockout win over Gary Frazier at Strikeforce Challengers. He would continue to add to his win streak, making it to 11-0 after defeating Dion Staring in another Strikeforce pay-per-view.
On April 20, 2013, Cormier entered the UFC to fight for Dana White and won his first match against Frank Mir via unanimous decision. It wasn’t until 2015 that Cormier would lose his first match, coming in a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout against Jon Jones.
Cormier won the same title in his very next match against Anthony Johnson, and added the UFC Heavyweight Championship to his resume by defeating Stipe Miocic in 2018.
UFC Earnings
If you’ve read any of our other MMA fighter profiles before, then you know the drill. Very few of a fighter’s purses are disclosed, and those that are don’t typically include additional earnings from PPV bonuses. In Daniel Cormier’s situation, salaries were disclosed for seven of his fights, beginning in 2014.
When DC fought Patrick Cummins at UFC 170, he earned a total of $160,000, comprising $80,000 to show and $80,000 for the win. Later that year, at UFC 173, Cormier earned a similar sum ($170,000) for submitting Dan Henderson with a rear-naked choke.
In his first title fight against Jon Jones in 2015, he received $90,000 despite the loss, which highlighted that his base purse was gradually increasing. However, Cormier mentioned that after the fight, Dana White was impressed with the performance and sent him a cheque for $1 million.
Later that year, he earned $180,000 for beating Anthony Johnson, again earning a $90,000 base purse, as well as a $90,000 win bonus. That said, Cormier has also mentioned that the UFC’s owner at the time, Lorenzo Fertitta, wanted his champions to make at least $1 million per fight. Fertitta would make up the difference to ensure that champions would receive $1 million per fight. In which case, Cormier likely earned $1 million from the Johnson fight, and for his next fight against Alexander Gustafsson.
Peak Career Earnings
Only three other fights of Daniel Cormier’s career have disclosed earnings. These are a $1 million paycheck for his rematch with Jon Jones at UFC 214, and two $500,000 purses for his fights with Stipe Miocic. By this point, DC’s pay-per-view bonuses likely exceeded $1 million, and thus, Fertitta didn’t need to make up the difference.
Just based on the figures we’ve mentioned above, Cormier’s disclosed earnings amount to $5.32 million during his tenure with the UFC. That said, this doesn’t include every single one of his fights and doesn’t factor in PPV income.
Personal Life
Daniel Cormier and his three siblings were raised by his parents, Audrey Cormier and Joseph Cormier, in Louisiana. Cormier was married to a woman named Robin, and following their divorce, he had a child in another relationship, but his girlfriend and child tragically passed away in a car accident.
Since the late 2000s, Cormier has been in a relationship with Salina Deleon. The couple got married in 2017 and has had two children together.
Summary
Daniel Cormier had perhaps one of the more traditional routes into the UFC thanks to his background in wrestling. However, not many have found the type of success that Cormier has while in the UFC, as he won championships in multiple weight classes. He has used his talents and marketability to launch a successful MMA career that has made him one of the richest combat athletes.
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