"You don't want a McGregor fight to be the ultimate prize" - Daniel Cormier explains why it's important for fighters to prefer title fights over money fights

Daniel Cormier believes the ongoing trend of fighters picking money fights over title fights is detrimental to the UFC in the long run.

According to the former two-division UFC champion, the ultimate prize for any fighter competing inside the octagon should be a UFC championship instead of a matchup with the biggest names in the business.

Due to the massive influx of money in the entire sporting industry over the last decade, the dynamics of MMA as a sport are rapidly changing. Fighters now want to partake in the most profitable fights instead of the most prestigious ones, which has a negative effect on the sport, claims Daniel Cormier.

In a recent episode of ESPN MMA's DC & RC podcast, Cormier stated the following:

"As an organization, you'd always want that belt to be the grand prize. You don't want a McGregor fight to be the ultimate prize for the competitor. The prize needs to stay the championship and it seems like right now things are changing. Things are changing all around the world in terms of sport right? The money is changing everything across the board in all sports and I think the same thing is happening in the UFC."

Check out Cormier's comments in the latest episode of DC & RC below:

Daniel Cormier pointed to the example of UFC's biggest draw, Conor McGregor. It is no secret that there is massive fanfare surrounding every Conor McGregor fight and his opponents gain fame as well as considerably more money for scrapping with the Irishman.

Dustin Poirier recently picked a trilogy fight against 'Notorious' over a title fight against reigning champ Charles Oliveira.

'The Diamond' is now potentially in line for another money fight with Nate Diaz, which could see him potentially overlooking the title shot again. This is where the problem arises, claims Daniel Cormier.

Although Oliveira is the champion and deserves to go against the biggest names in the sport, his potential opponent could overlook him and the title since he can make a lot more money by fighting bigger draws.

Daniel Cormier claims Conor McGregor is easy money for Kamaru Usman

Champion @USMAN84kg has been sparring back & forth on social w/ @TheNotoriousMMA. I’m here for it too. If the @ufc would make this super fight Usman should do whatever he can to get the it signed. Shoot anyone should. I’d force @dc_mma out of retirement if they offered up Conor. pic.twitter.com/lRnBiHL4mC

— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) August 17, 2021

Conor McGregor recently expressed a desire to move up to welterweight on his UFC return and fight for the title against Kamaru Usman.

According to Daniel Cormier, Usman should definitely take the fight if it comes his way because, stylistically, McGregor is an easier opponent for him compared to the top-welterweight contenders he has defended his title against.

Cormier further added that since McGregor is the biggest name in the UFC, fighting him would certainly fetch 'The Nigerian Nightmare' a handsome payday.

When opportunity knocks... 👀 (via @dc_mma) pic.twitter.com/HfydJGfjzd

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 18, 2021