UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier discusses the tragedies and heartbreak which has made him the man he is today.
Cormier is the model professional. With a no-nonsense attitude to fighting and a respectful, hardworking attitude to the sport of MMA, it can be argued that “DC” is one of the prime examples of what it takes to be a true role model in the UFC.
For those unaware of the 38-year-old’s past, however, it may come as a shock to hear that behind the positive and professional demeanour lies a past filled with tragedy.
Cormier lost his three-month-old daughter to a car accident in 2003, yet incredibly states that he used the tragedy (in addition to losing his father to murder and close friend in a plane crash) as motivation to become who he is today: a true champion:
“You know man, with all the stuff that’s happened, there’s ways of looking at it. You can either let it crush you, or allow it to actually, like, elevate you and motivate you”, said Cormier on ESPN recently.
“I was very young when my father passed, and I didn’t quite understand,” cormier added. “When I was at Oklahoma State and one of the guys I was very close to died in a plane crash, I was like ‘wow, this is really bad’. And the obviously with my daughter, that was the one I thought was going to really just shut me down. I wasn’t going to do anything more. But then I started thinking to myself, I can still honor her, my daughter Kaedyn, in everything I do going forward. Every day I still try to represent that little girl in everything I do”.
In the MMA of 2017 where trash talk, fast cars and money fights dominate the headlines, it is sometimes easy to forget about the Daniel Cormiers of the sport.
Check out the full clip above.
