“I Have Got to Get Back to Wrestling”- Daniel Cormier Hints Major Changes Ahead of His Retirement Fight

Just like every great champion, Daniel Cormier has one last fight left in him. The former two-division champ wants to make sure that he ends his career as a UFC champion. In order to do that, DC is looking to go back to his wrestling roots.

Cormier has already made it clear that irrespective of the outcome, the trilogy fight against Stipe Miocic will be his last fight. In order to have the perfect farewell to his MMA career, DC is taking inspiration from his amateur days. Prior to cementing his status as one of the best mixed martial artists in the world, Cormier was one of the best wrestlers in the nation.

He gained the status of an All-American while competing at Oklahoma State University. The former Strikeforce champion even represented the USA in the Olympics. While talking to fellow Olympian Kerry McCoy via USA Wrestling, Cormier said that he owes his everything to wrestling. Whether it’s his time in Strikeforce and UFC or his job as an analyst with Foz Sports and ESPN, everything can be traced back to wrestling. Therefore, he believes that within wrestling lies the secret for his last hurrah.

“I’ve got to get back to wrestling,” Cormier said. “I’ve got to get back to guys like you Kerry, who is actually going to be able to tell me that ain’t enough. I have Bob [Cook] and my coaches do but I need to have that. Like Jamill [Kelly], when I was making 205 [pounds], Jamill would come and do the weight cuts with me. It wasn’t enough, he’d say that ain’t enough.”

“Shawn Bunch does my weight cuts with me and if he thinks ‘DC, you gotta get back in there a little bit before we go home, you’ve got to do that.’”

Daniel Cormier reveals who brought him into MMA from wrestling

Back when he was still into amateur wrestling, Daniel Cormier became friends with another Oklahoma State alum – Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal. The latter’s transition into MMA was a big motivation for Cormier. “King Mo” moved over to MMA after he was unable to secure a spot in the USA Olympic team for 2008. Following his successful debut, he kept on pressing his friend Cormier to follow a similar path.

“He went and he fought in Japan and made $50,000,” Cormier said. “I was like ‘what?’ and he went and bought a Cadillac and put like ostrich seats in it. King Mo’s ridiculous. Mo bought a Cadillac with ostrich-skin seats and they had King Mo crowns in the seats. Now $50 grand doesn’t get you that much but he must have spent all of it.”

“It was amazing that he had made that much money and he kept calling me about fighting and saying this was something that I could do. I was like okay, I’ll give it a shot,” DC added.

Thanks to the retired King Mo’s advice, the world got to witness an amazing fighter in Cormier.

DC shows his respect for Stipe Miocic

Despite having fought in two fights that ended in knockouts, there is no bad blood between DC and the heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. There could have been no better opponent for DC than Miocic for his last fight. However, despite the respect, Cormier wants to defeat him and leave as the UFC Heavyweight champ.

“I’m going to fight Stipe Miocic one last time and then I’m going to be done with this whole thing,” Cormier said. “I love this sport. I’m a competitive guy. Getting away from the competition is going to be tough but I know that to win the heavyweight championship again is the right way to go out.

“Stipe and I have a fantastic trilogy. He’s a wrestler himself. Very respectful guy. Firefighter. Tough guy. But I need to be the champion as I’m done with this thing.”

While the confirmation has come from DC’s side, the UFC or Dana White is yet to make anything official. With the Coronavirus outbreak looming around, the UFC is probably refraining from thinking too far ahead of itself. Cormier, on the other hand, has already started preparing for the trilogy. Judging by his words, he expects a late-summer return to action. A win will be the perfect ending to what has already been a remarkable career.