Daniel Cormier

Widely regarded as one of the best mixed martial artists of all time, former Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier has won a world championship belt in every promotion for which he has fought, and is the second of only four fighters in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) history to hold two weight classes at the same time, both the heavyweight and light heavyweight world championships. Before signing to the UFC, Cormier was King of the Cage Heavyweight Champion and Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion.

Born in Louisiana, Cormier won three state championships in wrestling whilst still at high school, and turned down a scholarship to play football at LSU so he could pursue wrestling. Cormier’s choice of sport paid off, and he enjoyed an illustrious career in Freestyle Wrestling, holding the senior U.S. national champion title every year from 2003-2008. He competed twice in the Olympics, taking 4th place in 2004, and was named team captain in 2008 before transitioning to a career in mixed martial arts.

Cormier made his professional debut fighting for Xtreme MMA in 2010 and won the XMMA Heavyweight Championship followed by the KOTC Heavyweight Championship two weeks later. The following year, Cormier competed in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix and caused an upset when he won his fight against Antônio Silva. In the following years, Cormier went on to become a dominating force in UFC, simultaneously becoming heavyweight and light heavyweight world champion.
Cormier also has a successful career off the mats, co-hosting the weekly show UFC tonight on FS1, and he made his film debut in the comedy Mantervention playing himself in 2014.