Daniel Cormier knows the moment is coming. At some point, inside the Octagon against Jon Jones, his world will be rocked. He will be caught with a punch or vicious elbow. Maybe he gets trapped in a submission hold.
It’s going to happen, and then he will have to reach deep within himself.
Cormier is a man who not only is undefeated in mixed-martial arts but also has never even lost a single round. And yet he still understands what it means to fight through adversity, despair and unfathomable pain.
He was one of America’s most accomplished amateur wrestlers, and yet Cormier always seemed to fall just a little short. He lost in the college Division-I finals. He finished fourth at the 2004 Olympics, and then four years later ended up in the hospital instead of holding a gold medal when a sudden illness prevented him from even competing.
But those disappointments were nothing compared to enduring a series of devastating real-life tragedies as Cormier lost people close to him. The worst was the death of an infant daughter who, years later, remains a constant presence in his thoughts.
So, yes, Cormier is well aware that UFC light heavyweight champion Jones, the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter, likely will put him in a position where he has to peel himself off the canvas. But Cormier believes that after you’ve been to the dark places where he has, he will rise back up. He has reached the biggest stage of his life, at age 35 and against all odds, for a reason.
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Thumbnail photo via Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA TODAY Sports Images
