Daniel Cormier Won't Bite The Hand That Feeds
Or Jorge Masvidal Shouldn't Listen To Cormier's Contractual Advice
Welcome to the latest C’mon Now newsletter. This is the place where I’ll share my thoughts on all the goings-on in MMA. Those thoughts could range from media criticism to advice for folks looking to get into MMA writing to why certain fighters or managers are not good for the sport.
Today’s topic is Daniel Cormier offering advice to Jorge Masvidal.
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I don’t know what’s happened to Daniel Cormier, but somewhere on the road toward retirement he got on the expressway and took the exit to shillville at full speed. These days it seems as if a week can’t go by without Cormier offering his take on how other fighters should negotiate with the UFC.
With competitors like Jon Jones and Jorge Masvidal (among others) putting the UFC’s business in the streets when it comes to the promotion’s unwillingness to go into its pocket to throw some change their way, Cormier implored Masvidal to do his negotiating with the promotion behind closed doors.
I’ll assume that Masvidal and his team started speaking to the UFC in private before Masvidal spoke up to the MMA media. Masvidal is no dummy. He’s been around long enough to know that the UFC doesn’t appreciate when its miserly ways are exposed. I’ll also assume Masvidal knows the UFC brass tend to hold a grudge and aren’t above petty vindictiveness when those tight-fisted ways are exposed. For Masvidal to reach the point where he is speaking openly about the UFC’s contractual offers, well, things obviously derailed at some point.
Cormier seems to think Masvidal went straight to the streets with his negotiations.
“Go talk about it directly, deal with it, that’s how I would do it, that’s all I’m saying. Look, don’t listen to me, I’m only the guy that’s gotten every single opportunity that I have tried to get or asked for. I’ve gotten paid fairly, I’m just that guy,” Cormier said.
The scolding tone of Cormier’s comment is off-putting. What works for one person might not work for another. The UFC has always liked agreeable fighters and perhaps Cormier falls into that camp. I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know that if someone always gets what they want from the UFC, the odds are good that they aren’t playing hardball with the promotion. History tells us that fighters who get labelled as difficult (asking for what they deserve) don’t get many outside the octagon opportunities from the UFC.
Cormier is already in bed with the UFC thanks to his commentary gig. With that in mind, I don’t think fighters should take his opinion on dealings with the UFC too seriously. There’s no way he will bite the hand that will feed him in his post-fight career.
Do you know something about UFC, USADA, an MMA manager or a fighter, that I should know? You can email me at trent.reinsmith@gmail.com or contact me via secure messaging on Telegram at trentreinsmith.
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