“The training facilities are unbelievable,” Daniel Cormier quipped about the top-notch combat gyms in Thailand, especially as he made his long-awaited trip to AKA Thailand. Initially skeptical of the gym idea, DC has come a long way since. But he couldn’t say the same about the police patrols in Thailand.

The retired UFC double champion recently made his trip to the lush, tropical country of Thailand to soak in the late winter sun and the hyped AKA gyms. However, his experience was marred by a frustrating experience with the cops that left a sour aftertaste that tasted of financial regrets.

Daniel Cormier critiques Thailand cops

Joining the Weighing In podcast with Josh Thomson, DC lifted the veil on how his team and he were scammed by the Thai police.

“That kind of killed my Thailand trip. The cops hustled me every day,” he began. “They stopped us every time… Yeah, and they wanted like a thousand [Thai baht], which is like 40 bucks. But like 40 bucks a day. I’m like, are you not tired of taking my money?” he voiced his frustration.

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The issue went beyond money; it was the lack of integrity and unethical practices that truly marred Cormier’s trip. While the cops finally let Cormier be, it didn’t come without a chaotic defiance from the ex-UFC champion. As DC reveals, the last time the cops stopped him and his close friend and training partner, Rosendo, they had to resort to the social media route.

“The last time they stopped us though, yeah, was probably the time the cops said, ‘We’re not stopping these two anymore.’ Me and Rosendo were going f—king crazy, bro. We were screaming at them. We were f—king videoing. I’m like, ‘This dude’s a hustler. He’s a scammer.’ We went off,” Cormier explained.

But the cop fiasco didn’t end before stripping Cormier of 18,000 Thai Baht, which roughly translates to $580. This was surely one of the highlights of Cormier’s full circle trip to AKA Thailand in Phuket, but definitely not one to remember.

However, despite the unethical practices brimming in the heart of Thailand, Cormier made the most out of his trip to AKA Thailand, home to some of the greatest UFC fighters.

As AKA Thailand reports in its archives, Cormier’s visit to the gym was one to cherish, especially given Cormier’s initial distrust of Mike Swick’s overtly ambitious and unrealistic idea. That was an opinion he quickly switched once he truly stepped inside the facility. But it was not just the cops that got on his nerves, with not even the training facility compensating for the setback.

Daniel Cormier is not the biggest fan of Thai food

Come for the scenery, stay for the food. However, that could not be said for Daniel Cormier, who had a dismal sight of the food scene there. The issue is not Thai cuisine itself, but rather the safety and hygiene concerns that plagued his entire team. Top it all off with unbearable heat, and Thailand turned out to be a no-go for a second time for DC.

“It’s hot as hell. I don’t necessarily trust food, especially when I go to—so I’m like the person that wants to go inside the grocery store and cook the food,” DC told Thomson.

But that is just the beginning of his troubles, as he further explained, “But there’s food everywhere in the grocery store. Nothing’s packaged. It’s just laying out. It’s disgusting. So the meat is just uncovered in the grocery store. That itself makes my stomach hurt.”

That sent his entire team to the hospital, including his coaches, while DC made his flight back to America. Even the flight back turned into a nightmare, as Cormier shared, “I started developing food poisoning on the plane because I saw them in the hospital. I was like, ‘Please don’t do this.’ I was a plague, dog.”

Clearly, the world-class gyms couldn’t prepare Daniel Cormier for the culture shock, turning the trip into a cautionary tale of questionable policing and conditions he wasn’t built to tolerate. What do you make of Cormier’s Thailand experience—unlucky circumstances or harsh reality? Comment below.