Throughout his distinguished career, Daniel Cormier shared the Octagon with many remarkable athletes.
The UFC Hall of Famer is now a familiar voice cageside, regularly commentating on the promotion`s pay-per-view events.
Cormier, who held both the UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight championships, retired from active competition in 2020, though some, including Dana White, believed he could have continued.
A significant chapter in Cormier`s career involved his intense rivalry with Jon Jones, whom he faced twice for the light heavyweight title.
Before one of their highly anticipated rematches, Jones was withdrawn from the card, leading to Cormier accepting a short-notice fight against another legendary figure in the sport.
Daniel Cormier reveals feeling scared before fighting Anderson Silva, attributing it to a disruption in his fight routine
UFC 200 in July 2016 was originally slated to feature the major rematch between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones to unify the light heavyweight belts.
However, just three days before the event, Jones was removed due to a potential anti-doping violation. Cormier indicated he was still willing to fight if the UFC could secure a suitable opponent.
With less than two days` notice, former UFC middleweight champion and all-time great, Anderson Silva, stepped up to face Cormier in a non-title light heavyweight bout scheduled for three rounds.
Speaking recently on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, `DC` confessed to experiencing fear before this specific fight, citing a unique reason.
In 2015, Cormier had been highly active, fighting three times. He bounced back from his initial loss to Jones by defeating Anthony Johnson for the vacant title and successfully defending it against Alexander Gustafsson.
Following a grueling five-round battle with Gustafsson, Cormier took time off, which he now believes disrupted his established fight rhythm and sense of familiarity heading into UFC 200, where he ultimately defeated Silva convincingly.
He recounted, “I fought in 2015 three times. It was like riding a bike. I would just walk to the Octagon, fight somebody, and I was fine. But then 2016, because remember Gustafson beat me up bad… I was like, yo, I need like nine months.
He continued, “I’m in the locker room waiting to go fight Anderson [Silva]. I know he’s not in shape. I know he can’t wrestle. I literally know that there’s a 99% chance I’m winning. And I was scared. Like I was actually in the back scared like, man, it felt so unfamiliar because I had been away for so long.”
Daniel Cormier faced fan criticism during his post-fight interview at UFC 200
Daniel Cormier`s replacement fight against Anderson Silva proved to be one of the less popular matchups at UFC 200 among the audience.
`DC` predominantly used his wrestling, securing all three of his takedowns and controlling `The Spider` on the ground for over 10 minutes, but he wasn`t able to inflict significant damage.
In his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Cormier addressed the fight`s reception and explained his strategy as fans vocalized their displeasure.
He stated, “The fight went how it had to go. Joe, I’ve been training for a specific guy for 8 weeks. The guy gets out of the competition, I fight Anderson Silva. I was a little nervous. He’s so good and I did what I had to do. It’s very difficult to switch opponents on two days but Anderson did a good job of staying in there.”
Cormier eventually got his opportunity for a rematch against Jon Jones, which took place at UFC 214 the following year.
