Daniel Cormier facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Daniel Cormier
Cormier in 2017
Born	Daniel Ryan Cormier (1979-03-20) March 20, 1979 (age 46) Lafayette, Louisiana, U.S.
Nickname(s)	DC
Residence	Gilroy, California, U.S.
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	251 lb (114 kg)
Division	Light Heavyweight (2014–2018) Heavyweight (2009–2013, 2018–2020)
Reach	72+1⁄2 in (184 cm)
Style	Wrestling
Fighting out of	San Jose, California, U.S.
Team	American Kickboxing Academy
Trainer	Javier Mendez
Rank	Brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Léo Vieira
Wrestling	Olympic freestyle wrestling NCAA Division I All-American
Years active	2002–2008 (freestyle wrestling) 2009–2020 (MMA)
Mixed martial arts record
Total	26
Wins	22
By knockout	10
By submission	5
By decision	7
Losses	3
By knockout	1
By decision	2
No contests	1
Other information
University	Colby Community College Oklahoma State University
Notable school(s)	Northside High School
Medal record Representing the  United States Men's freestyle wrestling World Championships Bronze 2007 Baku 96 kg World Cup Silver 2005 Tashkent 96 kg Pan American Games Gold 2003 Santo Domingo 96 kg Bronze 2007 Rio de Janeiro 96 kg Pan American Championships Gold 2002 Maracaibo 96 kg Men's Greco-Roman wrestling Cadet World Championships Bronze 1995 Prague 83 kg Collegiate Wrestling Representing Colby CC NJCAA Championships Gold 1998 Bismark 190 lb Gold 1999 Rochester 197 lb Representing the Oklahoma State Cowboys NCAA Division I Championships Silver 2001 Iowa City 184 lb Big 12 Championships Silver 2000 Lincoln 184 lb Silver 2001 Stillwater 184 lb

Daniel Ryan Cormier (born March 20, 1979), also known as "DC," is a famous American former professional mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestler. He is now a color commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Daniel Cormier made history as the second fighter in the UFC to hold two championship titles at the same time. He was the UFC Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight Champion. Many people think he is one of the best mixed martial artists ever.

Before his MMA career, Daniel was a top international wrestler. He was on the US World or Olympic Team six times. He won a bronze medal at the World Championships in 2007 and a gold medal at the Pan American Games in 2003. He also won two Pan American titles. In college wrestling, he was a two-time champion at the junior college level. He also reached the national finals in NCAA Division I.

Before joining the UFC, Daniel Cormier was the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion and the King of the Cage Heavyweight Champion. He is considered one of the greatest heavyweight mixed martial artists of all time.

Early Life and Wrestling Journey

Daniel Cormier grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana. He attended Northside High School in Lafayette. There, he became a three-time state champion in wrestling for Louisiana. During his high school years, he had an amazing record of 101 wins and only 9 losses. He also won a bronze medal in Greco-Roman Wrestling at the Cadet World Championships in 1995. Daniel was also a talented football player in high school. He was offered a scholarship to play football at LSU, but he chose to focus on wrestling instead.

After high school, Daniel went to Colby Community College in Kansas. He won two national championships there in 1998 and 1999. His record at Colby was 61 wins and 0 losses. Then, he moved to Oklahoma State University. In 2001, he reached the national finals in wrestling, becoming an All-American.

After college, Daniel had a very successful career in freestyle wrestling. He was the senior U.S. national champion every year from 2003 to 2008. He represented the USA at the 2004 Olympics, where he finished fourth. He was also chosen as the captain for the 2008 Olympic wrestling team, but he could not compete due to health issues.

In years when there were no Olympics, Daniel placed in the top five at the Wrestling World Championships in 2003 and 2007, winning a bronze medal in 2007. He also won a gold medal at the Pan American Games in 2003. In 2005, he won a gold medal at the Golden Grand-Prix Ivan Yarygin in Russia. This is known as one of the toughest wrestling tournaments in the world.

In 2018, Daniel Cormier became the head wrestling coach at Gilroy High School. In April 2021, he was honored by being inducted into the LHSAA Hall of Fame for his great achievements in sports.

Mixed Martial Arts Career

After the 2008 Olympics, Daniel Cormier decided to try mixed martial arts. He trained with other top fighters at the American Kickboxing Academy. This helped him become better at striking and submission wrestling.

Early Fights and Championships

Daniel started his professional MMA career in September 2009. He fought in Australia for Xtreme MMA. On July 31, 2010, he defeated Lucas Browne to win the XMMA Heavyweight Championship. Just two weeks later, Daniel won his second MMA title. He became the KOTC Heavyweight Champion by beating Tony Johnson.

Strikeforce Success

Daniel Cormier then signed a contract with the Strikeforce organization. He won his first fight there by TKO against Gary Frazier. He continued to win, defeating John Devine by KO and Jason Riley by submission.

In January 2011, Daniel fought Devin Cole and won by a unanimous decision. This was the first time one of his fights went the full distance. He then faced Jeff Monson and won by decision, showing off his strong striking skills.

Daniel entered the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. Even though he was less experienced than others, he faced Antônio Silva in September 2011. In a surprising win, Daniel knocked out Silva in the first round. He later shared that he had broken his hand during the fight.

In May 2012, Daniel fought Josh Barnett in the finals of the Grand Prix. Daniel won the five-round fight by unanimous decision. This made him the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion. He broke his right hand again in this fight and needed surgery.

Daniel Cormier had one more fight in Strikeforce, defeating Dion Staring by TKO in January 2013.

Joining the UFC

First Fights in the UFC

Daniel Cormier made his UFC debut on April 20, 2013, against Frank Mir. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Since his teammate, Cain Velasquez, was the UFC heavyweight champion, Daniel thought about moving to the light heavyweight division.

In his second UFC fight, Daniel faced Roy Nelson in October 2013. He won by unanimous decision. Before this fight, he announced that he would move down to the light heavyweight division.

His first fight at light heavyweight was against Patrick Cummins in February 2014. Daniel won quickly by TKO in the first round. He then fought Dan Henderson in May 2014. Daniel dominated the fight with his wrestling and won by technical submission in the third round.

Challenging for the Light Heavyweight Title

Daniel Cormier was set to fight Jon Jones, the UFC light heavyweight champion, in September 2014. However, Jones had to pull out due to an injury. The fight finally happened at UFC 182 in January 2015. Daniel was defeated by Jon Jones in a close fight that went to a unanimous decision. Both fighters earned a Fight of the Night bonus for their exciting performance.

Becoming Light Heavyweight Champion

In April 2015, Jon Jones was stripped of his title. Daniel Cormier then stepped in to fight Anthony Johnson for the vacant title at UFC 187 in May 2015. Daniel was knocked down early in the fight, but he recovered and won by submission in the third round. This made him the new UFC light heavyweight champion. He also earned a Performance of the Night bonus.

Daniel defended his title against Alexander Gustafsson in October 2015 at UFC 192. It was a very close and exciting fight that Daniel won by split decision. Both fighters received Fight of the Night honors.

A rematch with Jon Jones was planned for July 2016 at UFC 200. However, the fight was canceled because of a potential doping violation by Jon Jones. Daniel instead fought former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and won by unanimous decision.

Daniel had a rematch with Anthony Johnson in April 2017 at UFC 210. Daniel won the fight by submission in the second round, defending his title again.

Jon Jones Rematch and Title Return

The highly anticipated rematch with Jon Jones took place on July 29, 2017, at UFC 214. Jones defeated Daniel by knockout in the third round.

However, in August, it was announced that Jon Jones had failed a drug test. He tested positive for an illegal substance. As a result, the fight was changed to a "no-contest," meaning it was as if the fight never happened. The light heavyweight championship was given back to Daniel Cormier.

Defending the Light Heavyweight Title Again

Daniel Cormier faced Volkan Oezdemir on January 20, 2018, at UFC 220. He won by TKO in the second round, earning another Performance of the Night bonus.

Becoming Heavyweight Champion and Retirement

In 2018, Daniel Cormier coached on The Ultimate Fighter against Stipe Miocic. Later that year, Daniel fought Miocic for the UFC heavyweight championship on July 7, 2018, at UFC 226. Daniel won the fight by knockout in the first round. This made him the second fighter in UFC history to hold two titles at the same time. He also earned a Performance of the Night award.

Daniel defended his heavyweight title against Derrick Lewis at UFC 230 in November 2018. He won by submission in the second round. This made Daniel the first UFC fighter to win and defend both the Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight belts. Daniel later gave up his light heavyweight title to focus only on the heavyweight division.

Daniel fought Miocic again in a rematch on August 17, 2019, at UFC 241. Daniel lost the fight by TKO in the fourth round, ending his reign as heavyweight champion.

The third fight between Daniel Cormier and Miocic happened on August 15, 2020, at UFC 252. Daniel lost the fight by unanimous decision. After this fight, he announced his retirement from the sport.

Life After Fighting

After retiring from fighting, Daniel Cormier continued his career as a color commentator for the UFC. He had started this role in October 2016. He is now a regular part of the UFC commentary team.

He also co-hosts podcasts, including DC & Helwani and Good Guy / Bad Guy with former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen.

Achievements and Awards

Mixed Martial Arts

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC Hall of Fame (Modern Wing, Class of 2022)
  • UFC Heavyweight Championship (One time)
    • One successful title defense
  • UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)
    • Three successful title defenses
  • Fight of the Night (Two times)
  • Performance of the Night (Three times)
  • First fighter to successfully defend titles in two different weight classes.
  • Second fighter to hold two UFC championships at the same time.
• Strikeforce
  • Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion
• King of the Cage
  • KOTC Heavyweight Championship (One time)
• Xtreme MMA
  • XMMA Heavyweight Championship (One time)
• ESPN
  • Fighter of the Year (2018)
• CombatPress.com
  • 2018 Male Fighter of the Year
• MMAJunkie.com
  • 2018 Male Fighter of the Year
• MMA Fighting
  • 2018 Fighter of the Year
• Sherdog
  • 2014 Beatdown of the Year
• MMADNA.nl
  • 2018 Male Fighter of the Year.
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Feud of the Year (2014) vs. Jon Jones
  • Most Outstanding Fighter of the Year (2018)
• World MMA Awards
  • 2018 Charles 'Mask' Lewis Fighter of the Year
  • 2018 Analyst of the Year
  • 2019 – July 2020 Analyst of the Year
• ESPY Award
  • 2018 Best MMA Fighter
• Bleacher Report
  • 2018 Fighter of the Year
• Bloody Elbow
  • 2018 Fighter of the Year
• Fight Matrix
  • 2018 Male Fighter of the Year

Freestyle Wrestling

• United World Wrestling (FILA)
  • 2007 Wrestling World Championships Bronze Medalist
  • 2003 Pan American Games Gold Medalist
• USA Wrestling
  • USA Senior National Champion (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)

Greco-Roman Wrestling

• United World Wrestling (FILA)
  • 1995 Cadet World Championships Bronze Medalist

Folkstyle Wrestling

• National Collegiate Athletic Association
  • NCAA Division I National Runner-up (2001)
• National Junior College Athletic Association
  • NJCAA Wrestling Hall of Fame Inductee (2009)
  • NJCAA Collegiate National Champion (1998, 1999)
• Louisiana High School Athletic Association
  • LHSAA Hall of Fame inductee
  • LHSAA High School State Champion (1995, 1996, 1997)

Personal Life

Cormier in 2015

Daniel Cormier has two children with his wife, Salina Deleon: a son named Daniel Jr., born in 2011, and a daughter, born in 2012. Daniel Jr. also trains in amateur wrestling.

Daniel is a big fan of the New Orleans Saints football team and professional wrestling. His family is Catholic.

Media Appearances

Daniel Cormier has appeared in movies and TV shows.

• In 2014, he was in the comedy film Mantervention, playing himself.
• In 2015, he starred in a funny music video called All About That Cake. It was a parody of the song All About That Bass.
• In 2018, he was featured on an episode of "Sneaker Shopping" on the Complex YouTube channel.
• In 2019, he appeared in "Sub-Zero's Head Shatter," an episode of "The Science of Mortal Kombat" on YouTube.
• In October 2022, Daniel was a special guest referee in a wrestling match at WWE Extreme Rules 2022.

Mixed Martial Arts Record

Freestyle Wrestling Record

Senior Freestyle Results
Res.	Record	Opponent	Score	Date	Event	Location
Win	40–6	Chris Pendleton	12–5	July 5, 2014	UFC Fan Expo	Las Vegas, Nevada
2008 US Olympic Team Trials at 96 kg
Win	39–6	Damion Hahn	1–0, 1–0	June 15, 2008	2008 US Olympic Team Trials	Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	38–6	Damion Hahn	6–1, 6–0
2008 US Nationals at 96 kg
Win	37–6	Nik Fekete	7–0, 2–0	April 26, 2008	2008 US Senior National Wrestling Championships	Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	36–6	Max Askren	5–0, 7–0
Win	35–6	Willie Parks	1–0, 1–0
Win	34–6	Nick Preston	5–0, 1–0
2008 Northwest Championships at 120 kg
Win	33–6	Les Sigman	6–0, 2–0	March 30, 2008	2008 Northwest Senior Freestyle Championships	Washington, United States
Win	32–6	K.C. Walsh	7–0, 1–0
Win	31–6	Clayton Jack	Fall
2007 World Championships at 96 kg
Win	30–6	Aleksey Krupnyakov	1–0, 0–1, 1–0	September 19, 2007	2007 World Wrestling Championships	Baku, Azerbaijan
Win	29–6	Kiyotaka Kodaira	3–0, 6–0
Loss	28–6	Saeid Ebrahimi	0–5, 1–2
Win	28–5	Ruslan Sheikhau	0–1, 1–0, 3–0
Win	27–5	Ian Wardell	Tech. Fall
2007 US World Team Trials at 96 kg
Win	26–5	Muhammed Lawal	1–0, 1–0	June 11, 2007	2007 US World Team Trials	Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	25–5	Muhammed Lawal	2–1, 1–0
2007 US Nationals at 96 kg
Win	24–5	Muhammed Lawal	1–0, 1–0	April 7, 2007	2007 US Senior National Wrestling Championships	Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	23–5	Kyle Cerminara	4–0, 5–0
Win	22–5	Israel Silva	Fall
2007 Dave Schultz Memorial at 120 kg
Win	21–5	Steve Mocco	0–1, 4–3, 1–0	February 10, 2007	2007 Dave Schultz Memorial International	Colorado Springs, Colorado
Win	20–5	Tommy Rowlands	2–0, 2–0
Win	19–5	Pat Cummins	3–0, 4–0
Win	18–5	Arakida Nobuyoshi	Fall
2006 World Championships 21st at 96 kg
Loss	17–5	Alireza Heidari	0–2, 1–0, 0–7	September 27, 2006	2006 World Wrestling Championships	Guangzhou, China
2006 US World Team Trials at 96 kg
Win	17–4	Damion Hahn	4–0, 4–0	May 28, 2006	2006 US World Team Trials	Iowa, United States
Win	16–4	Damion Hahn	4–0, 4–0
2006 US Nationals at 96 kg
Win	15–4	Nik Fekete	3–0, 5–0	April 15, 2006	2006 US Senior National Wrestling Championships	Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	14–4	Damion Hahn	3–0, 2–0
Win	13–4	Kyle Cerminara	Fall
Win	12–4	Raphael Davis	6–0, 2–0
2005 World Championships 11th at 96 kg
Loss	11–4	Aleksey Krupnyakov	1–2, 1–8	September 26, 2005	2005 World Wrestling Championships	Budapest, Hungary
Win	11–3	Peter Pecha	4–0, 3–0
2005 US Nationals at 96 kg
Win	10–3	Tommy Rowlands	1–0, 2–0	???, 2005	2005 US Senior National Wrestling Championships	Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	9–3	Nick Preston	0–1, 3–0, 6–1
Win	8–3	Andrew Adams	7–1, 7–1
2004 Summer Olympics 4th at 96 kg
Loss	7–3	Alireza Heidari	2–3	August 26, 2004	2004 Summer Olympics	Athens, Greece
Loss	7–2	Khadzhimurat Gatsalov	0–5
Win	7–1	Bartlomiej Bartnicki	10–1
Win	6–1	Radovan Valach	9–0
2004 US Olympic Team Trials at 96 kg
Win	5–1	Tim Hartung	7–0	May 21, 2004	2004 US Olympic Team Trials	Indianapolis, Indiana
Win	4–1	Tim Hartung	Fall
2003 World Championships 5th at 96 kg
Loss	3–1	Alireza Heidari	3–6	September 12, 2003	2003 World Championships	Manhattan, New York
Win	3–0	Antoine Jaoude	Fall
Win	2–0	Ricardas Pauliukonis	Tech Fall
Win	1–0	Hakan Koc	9–3

NCAA Wrestling Record

NCAA Championships Matches
Res.	Record	Opponent	Score	Date	Event
2001 NCAA Championships at 184 lbs
Loss	6–3	Cael Sanderson	4–8	March 15–17, 2001	2001 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win	6–2	Andy Hrovat	TB 3–1
Win	5–2	Josh Lambrecht	MD 16–4
Win	4–2	Jake Stork	TF 22–7
Win	3–2	R.D Pursell	Fall
2000 NCAA Championships at 184 lbs
Loss	1–2	Cash Edwards	10–15	March 16–18, 2000	2000 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Loss	1–1	Doug Lee	4–6
Win	1–0	Zach Breitenbach	16–9

Pay-Per-View Fights

See also

In Spanish: Daniel Cormier para niños

• List of current UFC fighters
• List of Strikeforce alumni
• List of male mixed martial artists
• List of UFC champions
• List of UFC bonus award recipients
• Double champions in MMA
• UFC Hall of Fame