“I Wasn’t the Same Guy”- Daniel Cormier Says He Made a Big Mistake by Not Retiring Early

Daniel Cormier is one of the best fighters to have ever stepped into the octagon. The former Olympian is an excellent role model for upcoming fighters. He set a gold standard as an astute professional and always delivered in the octagon. His achievements in the octagon are second to none. 

However, the tail-end of his career did not pan out as he would have hoped. After knocking out Stipe Miocic in their first encounter, ‘DC’  lost his last two UFC fights. He retired after the last of three fights against Stipe and called time on an illustrious career. 

At the time of his third fight against Stipe, Cormier was 41. Many fans and pundits wondered whether if he should have retired early and if he took an unnecessary risk by facing Stipe in 2020. 

Read: Top 5 UFC controversies of the year 

Did Daniel Cormier fight for too long?

Daniel Cormier, on a recent episode of ‘DC’ and Helwani, shared his thoughts on his last three fights in the UFC. He said, “When I had that back surgery in 2018 after Derrick Lewis, it was over. It was over. Like I mean, it was absolutely, it was over. I fought twice since, and I possibly should not have. You can find those things in hindsight.”

‘DC’ continued, “But, when I had that back surgery, it so severely limited what I could do that it was pretty much over. I wasn’t the same guy. I trained hard last fight and Stipe beat me. But, I just wasn’t the same guy no more after the back surgery. I should’ve probably stopped, I should’ve probably stopped. I wasn’t the same guy, I couldn’t train as I trained before and that is about as honest as I could be with everyone”

The former double-champ went on to reveal that he should have retired after beating Lewis as he was on top of the world at that point. He had become part of an elite club of fighters to have held two belts and successfully defended both of them.

If he would have done so (retired), he would have been a strong contender for the ‘GOAT’ conversation. 

What do you make of Daniel’s assessment? Should he have retired after fighting Derrick Lewis? Let us know in the comments below!