- Daniel Cormier
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Daniel Cormier Born March 20, 1979
Lafayette, Louisiana, United StatesOther names DC Nationality American Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Weight 247 lb (112.0 kg; 17.6 st) Division Heavyweight (265 lb) Reach 71 in (180 cm) Fighting out of San Jose, California Team American Kickboxing Academy Wrestling Olympian Freestyle Wrestling
NCAA Division I WrestlingYears active 2009–present (MMA) Mixed martial arts record Total 9 Wins 9 By knockout 4 By submission 3 By decision 2 Losses 0 Other information University Oklahoma State University Notable school(s) Colby Community College
Northside High SchoolMixed martial arts record from Sherdog Medal record Competitor for 
United StatesMen's freestyle wrestling World Championships Bronze 2007 Baku -96 kg Pan American Games Bronze 2007 Rio de Janeiro -96 kg Gold 2003 Santo Domingo -96 kg Pan American Championships Gold 2002 Maracaibo -96 kg Daniel Cormier (born March 20, 1979) is an undefeated American mixed martial artist and a former Olympic wrestler. He is currently signed to Strikeforce, fighting in the heavyweight division. As of September 2011, Cormier is ranked the #10 heavyweight fighter in the world by Sherdog[1] and FIGHT! Magazine,[2] and #6 by MMAFighting.[3]
Contents
Biography
Cormier is the son of Joseph and Audrey Cormier.[4] He has an older brother named Joseph and a sister named Felicia.[4] When Cormier was seven, his father was shot and killed on Thanksgiving Day in 1986 by the father of his second wife.[4]
He was a three-time Louisiana wrestling state champion in high school and high school All-American. In high school, Northside High School, he suffered only two losses after his freshman year, both coming in injury defaults. He had a 101–9 record during his high school career and was also an All-State performer in football.[5] After high school he attended Colby Community College where he was a two-time junior college national champion. After Colby he transferred to wrestling powerhouse Oklahoma State University where he was an NCAA runner-up, losing to Cael Sanderson in the finals.
Since graduating from college Daniel was on 5 United States world wrestling teams and the 2004 Olympic wrestling team, ending in 4th place.[6] Daniel was also a member of the 2008 Olympic wrestling team for the USA, where he was named team captain, but did not compete due to kidney failure.[7] Daniel also competed and represented the Oklahoma Slam team in the now defunct Real Pro Wrestling league and was crowned a champion in the first and only season in the 211 lb weight class. While he competed in Real Pro Wrestling, he was also teammates with fellow Strikeforce mixed martial arts competitor Muhammed Lawal, who also was a season 1 champion, in the 184 lb weight class. At Oklahoma State University he earned a degree in Sociology.
Mixed martial arts
He decided to pursue a career in mixed martial arts, in the heavyweight division. He has trained with Cain Velasquez, Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck at American Kickboxing Academy.[8] Cormier signed an eight-fight deal with the Strikeforce organization and made his professional debut at Strikeforce Challengers: Kennedy vs. Cummings,[9] defeating Gary Frazier by TKO. In his second MMA fight Cormier defeated John Devine via first round KO. Cormier was the wrestling coach on The Ultimate Fighter 12 alongside Josh Koscheck with whom he wrestled at the NCAA Finals.
After a shortage of fights for Strikeforce, Cormier traveled to Australia and fought for Xtreme MMA. He defeated Lucas Browne to win the XMMA Heavyweight title on July 31. Just two weeks later he won his second MMA championship by winning the KOTC Heavyweight title on August 13 from Tony Johnson. He landed a solid punch on Johnson in the first round, causing his larger opponent to shoot in, but Cormier quickly gained the advantage with superior wrestling and BJJ and won the fight via rear naked choke. Just 8 days later he forced Jason Riley to tap out due to strikes at Strikeforce: Houston. He most recently defended the XMMA title in November 2010 against Soa Palelei. He won via submission to punches yet again in the first round.
Cormier next fought Devin Cole at the Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Saffiedine event on January 7, 2011, in Nashville, Tennessee.[10] He won via unanimous decision, the first time a fight of his has gone the distance. Cormier was to face Shane del Rosario at Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum on June 18, 2011, in Dallas, Texas,[11] but his opponent was involved in a car accident and withdrew from the bout. Cormier instead faced Jeff Monson and won via a decision. Cormier used his striking to dominate Monson on the feet and didn't allow for any takedowns, negating Monson's submission ability.
Cormier faced Antonio Silva on September 10, 2011 at Strikeforce World Grand Prix: Barnett vs. Kharitonov, replacing Alistair Overeem.[12] In a shocking upset, He won the fight via KO (punches) in the first round, catching Silva with multiple hits to the jaw, causing him to collapse, and then finishing with two hammer blows to the face of the grounded Silva before the ref could stop the fight. Cormier later revealed that he broke his hand during the fight.[13]
He is now set to face fellow finalist Josh Barnett at some point in early 2012 to determine the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion.[14]
Personal life
Cormier had one daughter, Kaedyn Imri Cormier, who died in a car accident on June 14, 2003.[4] He was married to a woman named Robin.[4] On February 16, 2011, he and his girlfriend had a son.[15]
Championships and accomplishments
Mixed martial arts
- King of the Cage
- KOTC Heavyweight Championship (One time)
- Xtreme MMA
- XMMA Heavyweight Champion (One time; Current)
Professional wrestling
Amateur wrestling
- International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles
- 2008 USA Senior Freestyle Olympic Team Captain
- 2007 FILA Wrestling World Championships Senior Freestyle Bronze Medalist
- 2007 Pan American Games Senior Freestyle Bronze Medalist
- 2007 Dave Schultz Memorial International Open Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
- 2005 Super Cup Senior Freestyle Silver Medalist
- 2005 World Cup Senior Freestyle Silver Medalist
- 2005 Ivan Yarygin Memorial Tournament Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
- 2004 Boutiatyr Grand Prix Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
- 2003 FILA Absolute Championship Senior Freestyle Bronze Medalist
- 2003 Ivan Yarygin Cup Senior Freestyle Bronze Medalist
- 2003 Pan American Games Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
- 2002 Medved International Championships Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
- 2002 Sunkist Kids/ASU International Open Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
- 2002 Pan American Championships Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
- 2002 Dave Schultz Memorial International Open Senior Freestyle Bronze Medalist
- 2001 Sunkist Kids International Open Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
- 2001 Dave Schultz Memorial International Open Senior Freestyle Gold Medalist
- 1995 FILA Wrestling World Championships Cadet Greco-Roman Bronze Medalist
- USA Wrestling
- USA Senior Freestyle Olympic Team Trials Winner (2004, 2008)
- FILA Senior Freestyle World Team Trials Winner (2005, 2006, 2007)
- FILA Senior Freestyle World Team Trials Runner-up (2001, 2002)
- USA Senior Freestyle National Championship (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
- Northwest Senior Freestyle Regional Championship (2008)
- John Smith Freestyle Wrestler of the Year Award (2007)
- ASICS Tiger High School All-American (1996, 1997)
- National Collegiate Athletic Association
- NCAA Division I Collegiate Championship Runner-up (2001)
- NCAA Division I All-American (2001)
- Big 12 Conference Championship Runner-up (2000, 2001)
- National High School Coaches Association
- NHSCA Senior High School National Championship 3rd Place (1997)
- NHSCA Senior All-American (1997)
Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown 9 matches 9 wins 0 losses By knockout 4 0 By submission 3 0 By decision 2 0 Result Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes Win 9–0 Antonio Silva KO (punches) Strikeforce World Grand Prix: Barnett vs. Kharitonov September 10, 2011 1 3:56 Cincinnati, Ohio, United States Strikeforce Grand Prix Semifinal Bout Win 8–0 Jeff Monson Decision (unanimous) Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum June 18, 2011 3 5:00 Dallas, Texas, United States Strikeforce Grand Prix Alternate Bout Win 7–0 Devin Cole Decision (unanimous) Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Saffiedine January 7, 2011 3 5:00 Nashville, Tennessee, United States Win 6–0 Soa Palelei Submission (punches) Xtreme MMA 3 November 5, 2010 1 N/A Sydney, Australia Defended XMMA Heavyweight Championship Win 5–0 Jason Riley Submission (punches) Strikeforce: Houston August 21, 2010 1 1:02 Houston, Texas, United States Win 4–0 Tony Johnson Submission (rear-naked choke) KOTC: Imminent Danger August 13, 2010 1 2:27 Mescalero, New Mexico, United States Won KOTC Heavyweight Championship Win 3–0 Lucas Browne TKO (punches) Xtreme MMA 2 July 31, 2010 1 4:35 Sydney, Australia Won XMMA Heavyweight championship Win 2–0 John Devine KO (punch) Strikeforce Challengers: Johnson vs. Mahe March 26, 2010 1 1:19 Fresno, California, United States Win 1–0 Gary Frazier TKO (punches) Strikeforce Challengers: Kennedy vs. Cummings September 25, 2009 2 3:39 Bixby, Oklahoma, United States See also
- List of current mixed martial arts champions
- List of current Strikeforce fighters
References
- ^ http://www.sherdog.com/news/rankings/2/Sherdog-Official-Mixed-Martial-Arts-Rankings-35587
- ^ http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-rankings/mma-heavyweight-rankings.asp
- ^ http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/09/14/mma-top-10-heavyweights-daniel-cormier-shows-hes-for-real/
- ^ a b c d e "Daniel Cormier bio". Nbcolympics.com. 2008. http://www.2008.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=1311/bio/index.html. Retrieved 2008.
- ^ www.themat.com/bios
- ^ http://www.danielcormierwrestling.com
- ^ http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/American-wrestler-Daniel-Cormier-will-not-compet?urn=oly,102321
- ^ http://www.themmadigest.com/2009/08/podcast-olympic-wrestler-daniel-cormier-entering-mma/
- ^ http://mmajunkie.com/news/16103/former-olympian-daniel-cormier-gets-final-tv-spot-at-sept-25-strikeforce-event.mma
- ^ "Tyron Woodley vs. Tarec Saffiedine Heads Strikeforce Challengers 13". MMAWeekly.com. 2010-12-06. http://mmaweekly.com/tyron-woodley-vs-tarec-saffiedine-heads-strikeforce-challengers-13.
- ^ "Strikeforce in Dallas Gets Gina Carano, Overeem vs. Griggs, and del Rosario vs. Cormier". MMAWeekly.com. 2011-04-09. http://mmaweekly.com/strikeforce-in-dallas-gets-gina-carano-overeem-vs-griggs-and-del-rosario-vs-cormier. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
- ^ Morgan, John (2011-04-09). "Overeem yanked from Strikeforce grand prix, Cormier to fill in against "Bigfoot"". mmajunkie.com. http://mmajunkie.com/news/24460/overeem-yanked-from-strikeforce-grand-prix-cormier-to-fill-in-against-bigfoot.mma. Retrieved 20101-07-18.
- ^ http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Strikeforce-Heavyweight-Finalist-Cormier-Confirms-Broken-Hand-35576
- ^ "Strikeforce heavyweight tournament finalists Josh Barnett vs Daniel Cormier staredown pic". MMAmania.com. 2011-09-11. http://www.mmamania.com/2011/9/11/2417815/strikeforce-heavyweight-tournament-finalists-josh-barnett-vs-daniel. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
- ^ "Daniel Cormier-Unbreakable". Strikeforce.com. 2011-06-13. http://www.strikeforce.com/news/2011/06/daniel-cormier-unbreakable/. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
External links
- Daniel Cormier profile at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Olympic profile at sports-reference.com
Team GSP Jonathan Brookins · Alex Caceres · Michael Johnson · Cody McKenzie · Spencer Paige · Dane Sayers · Kyle Watson Head Coach: Georges St-Pierre Assistant Coaches: Phil Nurse · John Danaher · Sean Williams · Jean-Charles Skarbowsky · Firas Zahabi Team Koscheck Sako Chivitchian · Jeff Lentz · Sevak Magakian · Andy Main · Nam Phan · Marc Stevens · Aaron Wilkinson Head Coach: Josh Koscheck Assistant Coaches: Javier Mendez · Bob Cook · Dave Camarillo · Teddy Lucio · Daniel Cormier Eliminated in
the first roundJJ Ambrose · Paul Barrow · Jason Brenton · Mike Budnik · Joseph Duffy · Pablo Garza · Toby Grear · Daniel Head Amir Khillah · Steve Magdaleno · TJ O'Brien · Mike Richman · Ariel Sexton · Ran Weathers Categories:- 1979 births
- Living people
- People from Lafayette, Louisiana
- American mixed martial artists
- Mixed martial artists from Louisiana
- Heavyweight mixed martial artists
- African-American mixed martial artists
- American sport wrestlers
- Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Wrestlers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Olympic wrestlers of the United States
- King of the Cage
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