Daniel Cormier recently narrated to Megan Olivi and fans his 2008 Olympic heartbreak and how, despite a serious setback, he bounced back, dedicated his life to mixed martial arts, and became a double champ in the UFC and also a Hall of Famer.
As an international wrestler competing in the men’s freestyle 96 kg division, Daniel Cormier finished fourth at the 2004 Olympic Games. However, after four years, the kid from Lafayette, Louisiana, had another chance to capture gold.
Daniel Cormier’s 2008 Olympic Heartbreak
For the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Daniel Cormier was again appointed as captain of the U.S. Olympic wrestling team by his peers.
In the meantime, he had also become the U.S. Senior National Champion every year from 2003 to 2008. “DC” represented America for six straight years at 96 kgs in Freestyle wrestling, “medaling left and right,” as Megan Olivi narrated during their sitdown.
But the Olympic medal was still pending, and in 2008, “DC” had a final chance to capture it. However, he didn’t even get the opportunity to compete, as his body gave up and he got sick during the weigh-in.
Cormier has called this setback “self-inflicted.” Years of extreme weight cuts had already taken a toll on his kidneys, and at Beijing, he cut a tremendous amount of weight and felt “almost paralyzed.” He required IV to recover and was ruled out of the games. While recalling this incident, Cormier said:
I cut this tremendous amount of weight, but I didn’t know I had underlying issues with my kidneys from all the massive cuts over the years… It reacted in a way that I could not recover. I thought I was going to die. My whole body just locked up, almost paralyzed. The moment they put IVs in you, which they had just made illegal, I was eliminated from the Olympic Games.”
Returning home from the Olympic Games was incredibly difficult. “DC” went from being viewed as a leader to a pariah, and “most people did not want him around.” He added:
When I came back from the 2008 Olympic Games, a lot of the people that held me in such high regard weren’t as warm and welcoming… Most people didn’t want me around at that time. I was a pariah. I was the guy that went to the Olympic Games and didn’t wrestle.”
However, “DC” did not let that one setback define him. He had bigger plans and continued his MMA journey forward. In 2009, he called Dwayne Zinkin, who is now his manager, and Zinkin suggested that Cormier should join the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose. Even Cormier’s coach, Smith, backed the idea.
I called Dwayne Zinkin, who’s still my manager today. Back in 2001 he told me, ‘You should do MMA, I think it’ll be great for you.’ I said, ‘I’m going to wrestle, but afterwards maybe.’ In 2009, I called him, and he said, ‘I’m going to bring you out to San Jose. There’s a gym, American Kickboxing Academy. We have John Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Cain Velasquez. All wrestlers. When we put you with these guys, you’ll appreciate it.’”
During the same sit-down, Daniel Cormier admitted that life at AKA was tough, as Cain Velasquez and Jason Miller pushed him hard. While training with the best, Cormier broke his nose, among other injuries. However, he never gave up.
I liked it, but I got my nose broken very early. Cain kicked me in the face. Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller kneed me and gave me a massive cut. I went through it when I first started, but I never stopped. I just don’t quit. That’s my gift. I don’t quit.”
Check out Daniel Cormier’s comments below (31:59):
After dealing with all the adversity, Daniel Cormier signed with the UFC and made his promotional debut against Frank Mir on April 20, 2013, winning by unanimous decision. In the years that followed, he went on to become a UFC double champion and was also inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2022.
