Past World medalist Daniel Cormier overcomes adversity to earn UFC title shot

UFC star Daniel Cormier captured a bronze medal for the U.S. in freestyle wrestling at the 2007 World Championships. USAW file photo.


Daniel Cormier envisioned a much different ending to his competitive wrestling career.


A much happier ending.


Coming off a bronze-medal performance at the 2007 World Championships, Cormier hoped to cap his career by winning a medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.


And then he would retire from the sport.


But something went wrong on a steamy mid-August day in China. Terribly wrong.


Shortly after making weight the day before his 2008 Olympic freestyle wrestling competition at 96 kg/211.5 lbs., Cormier started feeling dizzy and light-headed on the bus ride back to the Olympic Village.


“My body started doing crazy stuff,” said Cormier, who finished fourth at the 2004 Olympics. “When we got back to the Village, I couldn’t even walk. I’ve never felt so helpless.”


Suffering from severe dehydration, Cormier was taken to the hospital.


“My kidneys were shutting down,” he said. “The doctors said my kidneys were functioning at only about 20 percent. It was pretty scary.”


Cormier still hoped to compete the next day, but it didn’t happen.


“I made some mistakes – I did some things wrong with my weight cut and I should have been more consistent with my diet,” he said. “It’s one of the biggest regrets of my career. I let myself down and I let my country down. I thought I would never get a chance to redeem myself.”


Cormier has redeemed himself, and in a huge way.


Cormier is scheduled to compete in the biggest match of his life when he challenges Jon “Bones” Jones for the Ultimate Fighting Championships light heavyweight title on Jan. 3, 2015 at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.


Cormier, 35, has flourished in five years competing in mixed martial arts. He’s a perfect 15-0 and won titles in Strikeforce and Xtreme MMA before moving into the UFC.


He will fight a strong opponent in Jones, who won a junior-college national wrestling title at Iowa Central, in UFC 182. The fight was originally scheduled for later this month, but was postponed when Jones, 27, sustained an injury during training.


The fight is expected to be one of the biggest UFC pay-per-view events in recent years. The fight gained added exposure and hype during an Aug. 4 scuffle when the two fighters stepped on stage for a face-off during media day at the MGM Grand.


When the two athletes came together on stage, the 6-foot-4 Jones looked down and pressed his face against the face of the 5-11 Cormier.


Cormier then shoved Jones and a wild scene ensued where Jones took a swing at Cormier. The two fighters then tumbled off the stage and onto the ground before being separated.


The scene and scuffle was a lead story on ESPN’s SportsCenter and received extensive coverage on Fox Sports and numerous other national media outlets.


“It’s kind of funny because we were standing in the back before we went up to do the face-off, and he was very nice and very cordial to me,” Cormier said. “But then we walked out there, and people were everywhere and they were cheering. I think the whole atmosphere got him a little worked up. When he got close, he put his head down against me and that’s when I pushed him. I’m not going to lose any part of this fight. He’s not going to intimidate me. He took a swing at me, but he missed. He said he hit me, but if he did I didn’t feel it.”


Cormier said battling wrestlers like Olympic gold medalist Cael Sanderson along with Olympic and World champion Khadshimourad Gatsalov of Russia have prepared him for battling an MMA star like Jones.


“I’ve already faced the best wrestlers in the World,” he said. “I’m not going to be intimidated by Jon Jones after facing Sanderson and Gatsalov. I’m not afraid of anybody.”


Cormier said he had never seriously considered mixed martial arts until he talked with fellow Oklahoma State alum and close friend Mo Lawal, a past U.S. World Team member in freestyle wrestling. Lawal has also excelled in MMA.


Cormier was living in Stillwater, Okla., and selling commercial advertisements for a television station when he was contacted by Lawal.


“Mo told me I needed to get into fighting – he actually begged me to do it,” Cormier said with a laugh. “He said, “Dude, you got to try this. The money is unreal and it’s not that hard.’ He told me he made $60,000 for his first fight and it only lasted a minute before he won.”


Cormier was intrigued by Lawal’s sales pitch. He started looking into places to train and settled on the American Kickboxing Academy, a top martial arts gym located in San Jose, Calif.


“When I first walked into the gym, I was pretty fat,” Cormier said. “I stepped on the scale and I weighed 263 pounds. I was out of shape, and it wasn’t pretty when I started training.”


One of the first athletes that Cormier trained with in San Jose was Cain Velasquez, an All-American heavyweight for Arizona State who he had previously practiced with in wrestling at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.


“They threw me in there with Cain when I first came to AKA, and we started rolling around and scrambling around,” he said. “Then he kicked me in the leg and I thought, ‘What the hell was that?’ This was a whole different deal than wrestling. After a minute and a half, I was so exhausted I started throwing up. Cain was really good. It was a real wake-up call for me.”


Velasquez is now the UFC heavyweight champion.


“Cain and I train together every day,” Cormier said. “He’s always in great shape and he’s one of the most technically sound guys in MMA. I remember when we first started training together and he broke my nose. I got so good so fast in MMA because I didn’t have a choice if I wanted to survive against Cain.”


Three weeks after starting his MMA training, Cormier stepped into the ring for his first fight on Sept. 25, 2009. He won by technical knockout over Gary Frazier.


“I was ready to make some money,” Cormier said. “I was still pretty heavy and I didn’t have to cut any weight because I was a heavyweight. But I didn’t want to weigh 250 or more, so I sat in the sauna and weighed in at 249¾. I made $20,000 for that fight and I thought, ‘Holy cow, that’s a lot of money.’ It kind of snowballed from there.”


In Cormier’s most recent win, he defeated past UFC champion and Olympic wrestler Dan Henderson this past May in Las Vegas. Cormier also owns a win over past UFC champion Frank Mir.


Cormier continues to land bigger fights and earn more lucrative paydays. He said he has earned more than $100,000 in each of his last eight fights and is scheduled for a huge payday in his showdown against the talented Jones, considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.


“There are bad feelings and bad emotions between Jon Jones and myself – we obviously don’t like each other very much,” Cormier said. “But I know there is a lot of competitive respect between us. We both know what we can do. I think people are going to get one of the best fights ever.”


Cormier, a Louisiana native, admits he has grown and matured personally during his rapid climb up the MMA ranks.


While doing a recent phone interview from his home in San Jose, Cormier was finishing washing dishes before preparing to make breakfast for his son, Daniel, 3, and his daughter, Marquita, 2. He is now engaged to his fiancé, Salina.


“Life’s really good right now,” he said. “I’m really happy. I’ve got a great family life and I have great support from them.”


Cormier’s 2008 Olympic wrestling teammate, Ben Askren, also has excelled in MMA. Askren won a Bellator title before winning a One Fighting Championships title this past weekend in the welterweight division.


“Ben’s doing great – he’s not going to go away,” Cormier said. “He’s going to continue to win. Ben Askren will eventually be in the UFC – it’s inevitable. Bellator dropped the ball by not re-signing him. We all know that Ben can take you down, and now his ground game is becoming really good. His grappling is ridiculous. Now he’s figuring out how to punch and finish guys off. It’s been great to see the progress he’s made.”


Cormier remains involved with wrestling. He was an honorary captain for the U.S. freestyle wrestling team during the World Cup this past March in Los Angeles. He also served as a guest commentator during April’s U.S. Open in Las Vegas.


“I love wrestling,” he said. “I truly do feel everything I have in life is because of the sport of wrestling. It gave me a chance to compete on the highest level. It gave me a chance to get my education. I got to wrestle for a legend in John Smith at Oklahoma State. I met all my idols and I traveled the World because of wrestling. It prepared me for a career in MMA. If fighting doesn’t work out, I can always go back and be a wrestling coach. My life would be empty without wrestling. It means a ton for me to stay involved with the sport. I always talk about what wrestling has done for me in the interviews I do for MMA, and I’m never going to stop talking about it. I love the sport of wrestling and what it’s done for me.”


Cormier said he still follows the sport closely.


“I was up at 3:30 in the morning watching the 2012 Olympics on my computer,” he said. “I love watching the matches, and I love supporting the guys on the U.S. team.”


Cormier said he plans to watch the webcast of next week’s World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.


“I think the U.S. has a great team,” he said. “I can’t wait to see how our guys do. I’m excited to watch them compete. There is always something special about competing for your country.”


Cormier has become a big fan of Jordan Burroughs, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist who is seeking his third straight World title.


“JB is special – he’s real special,” Cormier said. “He can do whatever he wants and be successful. If he wanted to fight, he would be great at it. I love watching him compete. You don’t get many guys that come along like Jordan Burroughs. You don’t want to miss seeing what he does when he steps on the mat. He’s an incredible wrestler and I’m one of his biggest fans.”


Cormier now competes at 205 pounds, a division 6.5 pounds lighter than the weight class he struggled to make during his international wrestling career.


“It’s actually not that hard,” he said. “I have a nutritionist that prepares all my food for me. I just have to follow my plan and stay disciplined. We don’t have to make weight that often, like we did in wrestling, so I’ve been able to manage it real well. I feel great fighting at 205.”


Cormier’s wrestling skills have translated well into mixed martial arts. He’s also become a dangerous and lethal puncher, and at 35 is still an explosive athlete who can strike quickly in the UFC Octagon.


“I just have to fight my type of fight,” he said. “If I do that, nobody can stop me.”


Cormier continues to train in San Jose in preparation for his upcoming fight with Jones.


“I will really pick it up in October,” he said. “I will really get after it in the three months before the fight, and I will be ready to go in January.”


So what can fans expect when Cormier steps into the UFC Octagon to face Jones on Jan. 3?


“Me winning,” Cormier said matter-of-factly. “I’m going to beat this guy. I’m not afraid of him in any way, shape or form. I’ve spent a lifetime competing, and I compete to win. It doesn’t matter the circumstances. I believe I’m supposed to beat Jon Jones. People are going to be surprised when it happens.”


Cormier said falling short of winning an NCAA title and coming up short of winning gold at the Olympics and World Championships is something that drives him.


“Every day, that motivates me,” he said. “Being second at the NCAAs and third in the World, that pushes me to be a UFC champion. Not wrestling in the Olympics in 2008, why did that happen and what was all that for? Now I know. It was all for this. For all the shortcomings and failures I had in wrestling, it has prepared me to face a guy that people think is unbeatable. In 2008, I never thought I would have a chance to redeem myself. But now I get to fight for the UFC championship. I never thought I would have a chance to right that wrong from 2008. Now I have that opportunity. I’m very excited and grateful for that.”