Daniel Cormier Skips Khabib Nurmagomedov and Bitter Rival Jon Jones to Name His Favorite Fighter of the Last 30 Years- “This Guy Was Beating People and He Was Making It Look Easy”

Daniel ‘DC’ Cormier, told fans who his favorite fighter of the last 30 years is at the UFC X Live show in Las Vegas ahead of UFC 290 tomorrow. Many expected DC to choose his former American Kickboxing Academy teammate and student Khabib Nurmagomedov, but his answer surprised many fans.

DC is a well-respected fighter in the UFC and has transitioned seamlessly from inside the octagon to behind the mic as an insightful commentator and analyst. So, his naming of another of his former stable mates as his favorite fighter surprised many.

He was going to be the greatest heavyweight we’d ever seen: Daniel Cormier

Daniel Cormier asked co-host Ryan Clark and guest Jordan Clark who was their “favorite male fighter of the last 30 years”.  The audience chanted various names, the loudest among them Jon ‘Bones’ Jones. The always classy DC acknowledged that his long-time rival was a “fantastic fighter,” but named Cain Velasquez as his favorite fighter.

“I’m gonna tell you my favorite fighter… Because I’m a guy that really values his teammates… My favorite fighter of the last 30 years is Cain Velasquez because, guys, Cain Velasquez was going to be the greatest heavyweight we’d ever seen and it was going to be by a mile.”

DC and the heavyweight were teammates at the American Kickboxing Academy. And Velasquez once looked like the most dangerous heavyweight in history. He would swarm his opponents while constantly pressing forward, giving his opponents little room for reprieve. His incredible endurance earned him the moniker ‘Cardio Cain’.

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He was a veritable knockout artist who had 12 KO/TKOs (11 in the first two rounds) in his 14 victories. The Californian defeated Brock Lesnar in 2010 to become the UFC Heavyweight Champion but was unable to defend his title for over a year due to injuries. In 2011, he returned to defend his belt but lost to Junior Dos Santos. He won back his belt and defended it twice before injuries forced him out. He lost his title to Fabricio Werdum in 2018 on his comeback.

The San Jose native’s last fight in the UFC was against Francis Ngannou in 2019, which he lost, and he announced his retirement in October 2019. But DC believes he could have been the greatest heavyweight of all time if not for the injuries. “And if not for all the injuries guys he would have left a mark on this sport that would be untouched,” DC said.

Cain Velasquez has recently been embroiled in legal trouble after being charged with attempted murder in October 2022 for allegedly shooting an unintended victim. 

Ryan Clark and Jordan Clark name their favorite fighters 

Jordan Clark put forth Charles Oliveira as his favorite fighter because of “the adversity that he’s overcome time and time again, the big fights that he’s won where everybody counted him out”. While DC’s co-host Ryan Clark declared that his “favorite fighter of all time is Daniel Cormier… (a) champion in two divisions…ready to fight anybody in the world, never turned anything (down)”.

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Cain Velasquez was a scary individual in his prime- dominating opponents and knocking them out in spectacular fashion. But, injuries derailed his once-promising career. And DC does not doubt that he would have been the best heavyweight of all time. Do you agree with DC? Tell us in the comments below.