i'm honestly getting really curious as to what the deal is.
With Anderson, we assumed it was because Anderson loves pranks and having fun with the media
With Lyoto, we assumed it was because he trains with Anderson
but Cormier has no connection to either and doesn't seem like the kind of guy to pull a prank on the media like Anderson...
So here's my theories....
1) Seagal is PAYING these fighters to let him show up and pretend he taught them something so he can get some kind of press (and they have to sign something promising to never admit it was all a farce)
2) They're all just going along with it to be polite. as long as it doesn't take too much time, they're getting to meet a celebrity and getting a little press for themselves
3) It's actually legit...seagal is really teaching them stuff (and I argued this posibility a long time ago because in all fairness he does have a really rare rank in whatever martial art he does, and is IIRC the only non-japanese guy to have that rank)