Last Saturday evening at UFC 252, we saw the end to the career of the great Daniel Cormier (22-3, 1 NC). Cormier fell short in his attempt to regain the heavyweight crown against Stipe Miocic (20-3).
Cormier once said that his goal was to retire at 40 years old. However, what turned out to be a trilogy with Miocic, kept Cormier fighting well into his 41st year. Now, Cormier walks away from the UFC.
DC was emotional in his interview with Joe Rogan after the fight when speaking about retirement. You could tell the emotions were heavy after falling short to Miocic once again.
One of the UFC’s all time greats
Make no mistake about it, Daniel Cormier is one of the best fighters of all time. There is no debate. Cormier was just the second man in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously with the other being the great Conor McGregor.
DC is also part of the greatest rivalry the sport has ever seen with the GOAT, Jon Jones. The Jones – Cormier rivalry is something that all fans dream about. A personal rivalry between two of the very best in the world.
The two men hated each other and even fought outside the cage at a press conference. DC fought Jones twice and came up short both times. While Cormier was the light heavyweight champion when Jones was serving suspensions, there was always an asterisks by his name.
People recognized him as the champion, but there was always the thought that the only reason he was is because Jones was out. Because of that, Cormier didn’t get the respect a defending champion normally does. Cormier beat all the top contenders at 205, but because of his losses to Jones, he didn’t get the respect he deserved.
All of those comments went away at UFC 226. Cormier moved up to become the first light heavyweight champion to challenge the heavyweight champion. Cormier shocked the world by knocking out the most decorated UFC heavyweight champion in history in the first round.
With one right hand, Cormier got all the validation that he needed. DC went on to defend the heavyweight title against Derrick Lewis at UFC 230. Following that win, Cormier would drop his next two fights, both to Stipe Miocic.
In another point in time, there might not have been a man alive that could have touched Daniel Cormier. Unfortunately for him, he competed at the same time as the greatest fighter of all time, Jones, and the greatest heavyweight of all time, Miocic.
Four (Technically) losses to two men. But those two men are all time greats. At the end of the day, DC is truly one of the best we’ve ever seen. A no doubt hall of famer, and I hope that he’s remembered in that light as opposed to being remembered as someone who came up short to Jones and Miocic.