The UFC’s quiet transition away from pay-per-view has poked at an old pressure point. For a long time, PPV points were the ultimate goal—the thing you pursued once you got the title or your name was big enough to sell a card. So, it makes sense that people are uneasy right now. Fans are wondering who actually benefits, fighters are wondering what they’re losing, and the UFC insists that the numbers still add up if you look closely enough.

Daniel Cormier doesn’t consider it a loss at all. In fact, he believes that many fighters today are better off than those from his era. And his rationale isn’t emotional or based on “back in my day” references. It’s about how the sport has evolved, how people consume it in 2025, and why the old PPV obsession isn’t as strong as it once was.

Daniel Cormier explains why the money hasn’t dried up

Daniel Cormier’s argument begins with a fairly blunt reality check, as he dismisses the notion that losing PPV points always means fighters are worse off. In his opinion, people get overly focused on what PPV used to signify and underestimate how shaky those payouts got over time. “They’re already getting more money. That’s the difference,” he said on the Weighing In podcast.

But that wasn’t that big of an issue back in his own time, when massive cards could still break through culturally. However, due to piracy and changing habits, even a “big” number today, he added, is closer to 500,000 purchases, a far cry from the peaks that people continue to romanticize.

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“Whenever we were fighting, and I was fighting Jon Jones and Rumble Johnson, and having, you know, Nick Diaz or Nate Diaz on my card, I was making a boatload of money in pay-per-views,” Cormier admitted. However, reality no longer scales in the same way. The audience is fragmented, access is easier, and the old system no longer rewards consistency in the same way that it used to.

What replaces it, according to Cormier, is certainty. Fighters are revising negotiations in light of the fact that PPV is no longer available. And the UFC, he claims, is agreeing. “I know guys now that said, ‘Hey, can I restructure with the idea that pay-per-view’s gone?’ And the UFC’s like, Yes,” Cormier said. The end result is assured money, not upside-down gambling.

This is the part he believes is what keeps getting overlooked. According to the former UFC double champion, a fighter from the bottom to the top of the card will make good money since he framed it as a flatter and safer system. Less boom-and-bust. There will be fewer illusions about a jackpot that may never come.

Daniel Cormier isn’t claiming that everyone will appreciate the move. However, he insists that it reflects the sport as it currently exists, rather than the one that people remember. When the stars aligned, PPV began to make legends. He believes that guaranteed money saves careers that otherwise would die. As for his own personal feelings about the switch away from ESPN, his honest verdict on that exit came with a sly dig at FOX.

Cormier’s honest thoughts on UFC’s ESPN exit

The same preference for stability shapes Daniel Cormier’s perspective on the UFC’s exit from ESPN. Leaving a broadcast partner is nothing unusual for the promotion, but this one had a different impact. And it had nothing to do with brand prestige or headlines, but people.

ESPN felt like a place where relationships mattered, and the UFC wasn’t the only thing holding the room together. ‘DC’ didn’t try to hide the contrast when FOX came up. “Anytime we move to a different place or network, it’s sad because you leave a lot of people you’ve built relationships with over that time,” he said on his YouTube channel.

He then drew the line. “The one place that I know where people will be fine is ESPN. ESPN is such a monster.” FOX, in his opinion, did not have that cushion. “A lot of the people we worked with at FOX weren’t fine because there is no replacing the UFC,” he added.

Daniel Cormier appreciates ESPN for helping to elevate the UFC during a critical period, but his perspective on the departure is practical, just as it is on fighter pay. Things change, and some systems perform better than others. And recognizing that doesn’t mean clinging to the past; rather, it means understanding why it was important in the first place.