Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier UFC 178 Brawl: $50K Fine & NAC Hearing
Before Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier ever shared the Octagon, their rivalry had already produced one of the most notorious scenes in UFC history. On August 4, 2014, a routine UFC 178 media-day face-off inside the MGM Grand turned into a brawl. Seven weeks later, both fighters were sitting in front of the Nevada Athletic Commission explaining what happened.
This video revisits the original Jones-Cormier brawl, their September 23 disciplinary hearing and the fallout that followed, using MMA Weekly's contemporary footage from the media day and commission proceedings. Jones ultimately received a $50,000 fine and 40 hours of community service; Cormier was fined $9,000 and given 20 hours. Neither man was suspended.
How the Jon Jones-Daniel Cormier UFC 178 brawl started
Jones and Cormier were originally scheduled to fight for the UFC light heavyweight championship at UFC 178 on September 27, 2014. Their relationship was already openly hostile by the time they arrived for the August media event in Las Vegas.
During the face-off, Jones moved in until the two were forehead-to-forehead. Cormier shoved him away, Jones came forward with a punch, and the confrontation spilled off the stage into the MGM Grand lobby as UFC staff and others tried to separate them. The footage instantly became part of the rivalry.
The fight itself would not happen at UFC 178. On August 12, the UFC announced that Jones had suffered a leg injury in training and moved the title bout to January 2015. Demetrious Johnson vs. Chris Cariaso replaced it as the UFC 178 main event.
Jones fined $50,000, Cormier $9,000 at Nevada hearing
The Nevada Athletic Commission called both fighters before the panel on September 23, 2014. Jones apologized for his role in the incident and acknowledged that, as UFC champion, the spectacle reflected badly on both himself and the sport. Cormier argued that his initial shove had been a reaction to Jones pressing his head into him during the staredown.
The commission ultimately fined both men 10 percent of their scheduled fight purses. Jones' penalty came to $50,000, accompanied by 40 hours of community service. Cormier received a $9,000 fine and 20 hours of community service.
Importantly, neither fighter was suspended. That left the rescheduled championship fight free to proceed once Jones recovered from his injury.
There was also a sponsorship story that became more complicated with time. During the hearing, Jones said the brawl had cost him his Nike deal and his attorney described the sponsorship as being worth more than six figures annually. Before UFC 182, however, Jones clarified that Nike had not simply dropped him because of the altercation. He said the sides had already discussed ending the relationship because Nike was moving away from MMA, although the brawl accelerated the separation and cost him money he otherwise expected to receive.
Jones and Cormier finally fight at UFC 182
Five months after the MGM Grand brawl, the rivalry finally reached the Octagon at UFC 182 on January 3, 2015.
Cormier entered undefeated and attempted to become the man who ended Jones' long reign at light heavyweight. Instead, Jones controlled key clinch and wrestling exchanges over five rounds and retained the title by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 49-46.
The result settled their first fight but did little to end the rivalry. They met again at UFC 214 in July 2017. Jones initially stopped Cormier with a third-round head kick and follow-up strikes, but the result was later overturned to a no contest after Jones failed an in-competition drug test. Cormier was subsequently reinstated as UFC light heavyweight champion.
From one of UFC's bitterest rivalries to very different heavyweight legacies
Their careers eventually moved beyond the light heavyweight feud. Cormier went up to heavyweight and knocked out Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 to become a simultaneous two-division champion. Miocic regained the belt in their UFC 241 rematch and won their trilogy by decision at UFC 252, after which Cormier retired.
Jones eventually made his own move to heavyweight, winning the vacant title in 2023 and later stopping Miocic with a spinning back kick and punches at UFC 309 in November 2024. He announced his retirement in June 2025, which elevated Tom Aspinall from interim to undisputed heavyweight champion. MMAtown covered the announcement in Dana White Confirms Jon Jones Retirement — Aspinall Becomes Heavyweight King.
Perhaps the strangest epilogue came in 2026. More than a decade after they were fined for fighting in a Las Vegas hotel lobby, Jones and Cormier agreed to work opposite each other as coaches on an MMA reality series, with Jones even discussing the possibility that their relationship could finally become friendlier. Read more about that unexpected turn in MMAtown's look at the Jones-Cormier reunion.
The August 2014 brawl remains the moment that transformed Jones vs. Cormier from a major championship matchup into something intensely personal. This video captures the confrontation itself, the commission hearing that produced $59,000 in combined fines, and the first steps toward the UFC 182 fight that followed.