Daniel Cormier is a UFC Hall of Famer, a two-division champion, and one of the greatest analysts in the sport. But peel back the curtain, and you’ll still find the kid from Lafayette, Louisiana, who wrestled his way out of tough circumstances with nothing but grit and a dream. Wrestling gave him an escape, a scholarship to Oklahoma State, and ultimately a path to MMA superstardom. Yet it also gave him the kind of heartbreak that even UFC gold couldn’t erase.

Still, Cormier often gets emotional when reflecting on the 2008 Olympics. He admits the blame falls squarely on his own shoulders for lacking discipline, especially with his lifelong struggle to manage weight. “I played around with … my weight. I took things for granted that I shouldn’t have. Ultimately, it cost me at the biggest time it could have cost me,” he said. But that wasn’t the only heartbreak of his Olympic journey. Now at 46, Daniel Cormier has openly revisited the pain of narrowly missing out on a medal, a regret that lingered even after he had already risen to the top as UFC champion.

Daniel Cormier reveals the painful truth about chasing Olympic gold

Aljamain Sterling recently sat down with Daniel Cormier on his YouTube channel FunkMasterMMA, where they looked back at DC’s storied UFC and Olympic wrestling career. During their chat, Sterling praised him as a two-division UFC champion and mistakenly credited him with an Olympic silver, but Cormier quickly corrected him, saying he actually finished fourth after losing in the bronze medal match. He admitted the loss still stings, and the memory of falling short has never left him.

Cormier recalled his heartbreaking defeat at the 2004 Athens Olympics. After falling to Khadzhimurat Gatsalov in the semifinals, he didn’t even want to fight for bronze. “I didn’t come here for a bronze medal,” he remembered telling his coaches, as he cried in disappointment. Still, he pushed forward into the medal match but couldn’t hold onto a 2-0 lead, losing 3-2 in overtime to Iranian wrestler Alireza Heidari. And that loss left him devastated.

What made it worse for Cormier was learning years later that many of his Olympic rivals had been caught using steroids in retroactive drug tests. “They went to 0-8… 0-7… 0-6… everybody tested positive,” he recalled. By 2005, medals were being re-awarded, and Daniel Cormier couldn’t help but think, “One more year. I might have got 2nd.” He admitted it was then that he realized just how badly he wanted an Olympic medal. Unfortunately, the testing stopped at 2005, leaving his hopes crushed.

Even as UFC champion years later, the regret lingered. “Please go back one more year,” Cormier said he wished at the time, still yearning for the bronze medal he never won. Sterling sympathized with him, saying he would have wanted it too, “especially when you know, everybody is cheating.” For both men, the unfairness of doping in sports hit home.

The former NCAA standout-turned-MMA legend achieved greatness both on the wrestling mat and inside the Octagon. Now the 22-3 fighter has left his fighting days behind and enjoys the quieter life he’s earned. Still, it feels like he has a few more chapters left to write before stepping away completely. With Daniel Cormier Jr. preparing to chase his own dreams, the proud father may lean on his hard-won lessons to help guide his son toward greatness.

Daniel Cormier steps into a new role as the backbone for his son

On July 17, Daniel Cormier appeared on The Rich Eisen Show, guesthosted by WWE superstar Seth Rollins, where the former UFC champion opened up about his plans to guide his son using the lessons he learned throughout his own career. He recalled how, at just 15 years old, he was fortunate to have an excellent coach who helped him join the U.S. National Team, stressing how vital it is to have someone show you the way. That’s the same role he now envisions for his son, who is only two years away from entering high school.

“My son’s going to be in eighth grade next year. He goes to high school in two years. I want to be able to wrestle with him. I want to be able to do things with him to try to help him along the way with his journey,” Cormier explained. He added that his Olympic days taught him invaluable lessons, and he hopes to pass those on to his son.

And then came a line that cuts to the essence of his career: “So a lot of the things that made me great in real life aren’t the best qualities. You got to be selfish, unbelievably selfish because you got to prioritize those goals in order to reach them,” he said. “And you got to have this undying belief in self and the willingness to work to go accomplish all those goals that you believe are out there.”

So here’s the question: does Daniel Cormier’s legacy shine brighter inside the Octagon, where he became a two-weight UFC champion, or on the mat, where he carried the weight of a nation but left empty-handed? Or maybe the real answer is neither — maybe it’s the lessons he’s now passing to his son, forged in both triumph and heartbreak.