Daniel Cormier debuted in the UFC after he was already an outlier in a sport obsessed with youth. Following the dissolution of Strikeforce, Cormier entered the UFC as a top contender at the age of 33, unanimously winning against the former heavyweight champion Frank Mir. Cormier carried a pristine wrestling resume with him forged on Olympic mats, not under bright MMA lights. DC was one of the most technically sound wrestlers of his time, who adapted to the UFC grind and dominated it. The UFC Hall of Famer now has a solid plan to bring elite wrestling back into the octagon again.

Upon arriving in the UFC, Cormier’s high-level wrestling foundation immediately proved its value, carrying him to championships in two different divisions. This is exactly why Cormier now speaks of Team Khabib’s dominance in the UFC and other promotions. He emphasizes the need for American wrestlers to claim their place at the top of MMA. His commentary does not serve as criticism, but as a calculated analysis from someone who has already walked that path.

Daniel Cormier believes American wrestlers are the key to MMA’s next era

“American wrestlers aren’t as open to fighting as we need them to be. But I have a plan. I’m getting American wrestlers into fighting. I love those guys – I love Khabib, I love Islam. Those guys are the best. But I want American wrestlers as champions.”

America boasts one of the greatest wrestling divisions in the NCAA, comprised of folkstyle wrestling, with teams that are among the toughest ever formed, with America achieving 7 medals at the 2024 Paris Games, reinforcing Daniel Cormier’s belief that the talent pool already exists for the U.S. to reassert itself at the top of modern MMA.

That said, the combat sports world has historically seen far more strikers than wrestlers or pure grapplers entering the UFC. However, as MMA continues to evolve with cage wrestling and high-level grappling becoming increasingly central to championship success, more technical ground specialists are beginning to explore the sport. One notable example is

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Kade Ruotolo, a world-class submission grappler who has successfully transitioned into MMA and is already making waves in ONE Championship.

Daniel Cormier shares his GOAT list and the logic behind each pick

Rooted in an Olympic wrestling background and a championship career built on control, pressure, and adaptability,

Daniel Cormier tends to evaluate fighters through the lens of what actually wins at the highest level. That perspective came into focus again when the former two-division UFC champion appeared on Paramount UFC, where he was asked to name the greatest fighters across six different MMA weight classes.

For featherweight, his choice was obvious, perhaps that’s the universal choice at least for now. “Alexander Volkanovski. He’s the greatest, man.” But he analyzed it a little more, saying, “It’s between him, Jose Aldo, and Max Holloway. He’s got eight title-fight wins now, four of them came against Max Holloway and Jose Aldo. So, if you got four wins over the two other guys that are considered in that conversation, I think that’s what separates you.”

And the lightweight GOAT for DC would be his comrade, “

Khabib Nurmagomedov. Undefeated, undisputed champion.”

The welterweight GOAT Cormier said, “Georges St-Pierre. Georges St-Pierre was the best. Those guys couldn’t fight him. He was ahead of his time, great wrestling, great cardio, great conditioning, and striking.” He just had it all, so no explanations were needed.

DC gave fans major nostalgia when he spoke about his Middleweight GOAT, “Anderson Silva. I was at that fight, and Roy Jones Jr. was in the front row because he wanted to box Anderson Silva. That’s how big a star Anderson became in mixed martial arts.”

Well, the weight division after that, Daniel refrained from talking about it. Light heavyweight and heavyweight are under deep turmoil!