Daniel Cormier talks his journey from video games to Floyd Mayweather to his teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov.
In a recent interview with Bloody Elbow, UFC Lightheavyweight champion and now Heavyweight title contender Daniel Cormier discussed his upcoming fight, Anthony Joshua vs Deontay Wilder, Floyd Mayweather in MMA, and everything else under the sun.
Daniel has always been vocal about his profound need for competition. He said that after his Olympic career he became addicted to video games as an outlet.
“I tried to retire before after the Olympics in 2008. I was like, ‘Okay, I’m retiring,’ and I played like 1000 games of NBA2K because I needed something to compete with. It’s what I’ve done my whole life, so I’ll coach at AKA. My son will be competing, my daughter will be competing. I feel like my outlet will become my children and their successes.”
Now approaching retirement, Cormier says he will have to transpose his competitive drive onto his children’s wrestling and gymnastics careers, along with his own job as a UFC commentator. He says he will keep his nutritionists on payroll to ensure an optimal quality of life:
“I was talking to a friend and they told me if I start putting money away, I can go to golf school. [laughs] You know you can do that? You can actually go to college for golf. If it’s an accredited university and they offer golf as a class—I can go to golf class!”
Cormier also dubiously addressed the rumors that Floyd Mayweather plans to fight in MMA.
“Why does he need to? He’s 41 years old and the greatest boxer of all time. He’s rich beyond anyone’s imagination. He’s got everything. He has so much money. This is not even money to last you a lifetime. This is generational money, the kind you pass down to your kids and their kids.”
Cormier’s teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov will face off with Tony Ferguson for the UFC Lightweight title at UFC 223. Fans are largely split on this fight, which could easily be called the best contest available in the UFC. Cormier says he likes Khabib’s chances.
“I think this is a great fight and a very winnable one for Khabib. He just has to understand that this will be one of those ugly fights where Tony may cut him, and he’s got to be okay dealing with the blood. He’s got to be okay with just being in a really nasty fight, because as weird as Tony Ferguson is, he’s as tough as they come—one of the toughest son-of-a-guns I’ve ever seen. I mean, I watched Edson Barboza beat the shit out of him for a while, and what did he do? He came back and submitted him. He’s just a tough-ass dude. He will never quit on himself.”
Lastly, Cormier offered his prediction on the seemingly inevitable heavyweight unification super-fight between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder.
“I was on the Olympic team with Deontay Wilder. I think he’s phenomenal, but I think that because he hits so hard, he gets a bit wild, and I don’t know if you can get wild with Anthony Joshua.”
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