Former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier announced his retirement from the sport on his weekly show with Ariel Helwani.
Speaking on the “DC & Helwani” show, he stated that father time has caught up with him. Daniel Cormier last stepped inside the Octagon two weeks ago at UFC 252 main event against Stipe Miocic.
Miocic defeated Cormier via unanimous decision and it was widely regarded that it would be the final fight of Daniel Cormier. However, following his loss, he didn’t drop his gloves in the canvas. In MMA it is sort of customary thing to do and many fighters have done it in the past.
However, Daniel Cormier revealed that he didn’t want to steal Stipe’s thunder by doing that.
“In my mind, I lost the fight,” Daniel Cormier said. “It’s Stipe’s moment. He’s the champ. Why would I do that? Because a guy like me retires in the octagon there, and that’s what people talk about. I think in the standings of the world, there’s a difference between Stipe and I. And if I’m in there and take my gloves off, it’s almost like I’m stealing his thunder. I wasn’t going to that.”
“I went to the back to get out of there and (let him) have his moment with his team and let him celebrate,” Daniel Cormier said. “He’s done that for me, so I got out the way.”
Why is Daniel Cormier retiring from MMA?
During the live chat, he also explained the reason behind retiring from the sport of MMA.
“I’m not going to fight anymore. I was talking to Joe Rogan after the fight, and I told him my interest is fighting for championships, and I can’t imagine with a loss that I’d be fighting for a belt again. I lost two fights in a row for the first time in my career. You’ve got to understand when it’s time, and the reality is part of the reason I got hit with that right hand by Stipe is because I’m older. You can’t fight father time,” Daniel Cormier said (via Damon Martin of MMAFighting.com).
“At 41 years old, I fought the heavyweight champion of the world three rounds to two with the idea that I wanted to win. I didn’t go in there trying to give a good account of myself. I wanted to win the fight and I still believe I can beat Stipe Miocic. But every day that passes, it doesn’t work in my favor.”
“I feel like I’m closing the door shut on this thing. It’s over. And I’m not sad about it. I’m not sad. I’m going to miss it. I’m going to miss the training camps. I’m going to miss the fights. There’s nothing like a fight week, but you have to understand when it’s your time. I feel like it’s time,” Daniel Cormier said.
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