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Daniel Cormier on training for the UFC Heavyweight belt during a pandemic

Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole spoke to former UFC Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in a one-on-one interview about training for his upcoming fight against Stipe Miocic during a pandemic.

Video Transcript

KEVIN IOLE: Hey, everybody. I am Kevin Iole, and maybe for one of the final times ever as an active fighter, I'm going the chance to interview the former UFC heavyweight champion, one of the best fighters in the history of mixed martial arts, my friend, Mr. Daniel Cormier. Daniel, how are you?

DANIEL CORMIER: How you doing, Kevin? How you handling-- how you holding up--

KEVIN IOLE: I'm--

DANIEL CORMIER: --home and working from home and everything?

KEVIN IOLE: I am holding up very well in this 112 degree heat. I'm one of the only [INAUDIBLE] golf. So I'm--

DANIEL CORMIER: Jeez.

KEVIN IOLE: So I'm going-- there is a big thing for you-- the rematch, UFC 252 on August 15, or the trilogy fight.

DANIEL CORMIER: Yeah.

KEVIN IOLE: The runner match with Stipe Miocic. First of all, is this your last fight? There's been a lot of debate. Are you going to fight after this? Win or lose, is this your last fight?

DANIEL CORMIER: Yeah, yeah, I feel confident in that, Kevin. I feel good about it. I feel good about knowing that I've done everything I need to do. I've got the most attractive fight out there for me, a third fight, a fight that matters, and a fight for the heavyweight championship. Like, you know, there's always going to be somebody else.

There's always going to be somebody else. And there's always going to be a guy that comes next that you're going to get paid more money for. And those things don't stop.

But ultimately, you have to decide whether or not you're going to be OK with where you stand. And I take a lot of this from Georges St-Pierre, you know? Nobody got to do what George did.

KEVIN IOLE: Right.

DANIEL CORMIER: And I mean, he walked away as a champ. And because he walked away as a champ, he constantly fields offers for him to come back. And it feels good to be wanted and needed, but good to know that you make the decision.

KEVIN IOLE: Exactly, and obviously, you were in a good financial position given your success in the UFC that if you come back, it wouldn't be for monetary reasons, right? If you came back, it would be because, hey, there's somebody out there that I just-- the itch that--

DANIEL CORMIER: I have to fight, mm-hm. But you know, Kevin, I think what happened is this training camp has shown me that for me to train effectively, for me to train as I did before I fought Alexander Gustafson or Rumble Johnson or Jon Jones way back in 2015, '16, it's almost unrealistic to sustain that because it's so hard. And there are so many things that are on my mind.

You know, I've got a new baby coming in a month and a half. I've got my children. I've got-- you know, obviously I'm older. But there's like a number of things that I think about that I did at 35 years old.

And it makes it hard to just be in training camp for, you know, four months-- three, four months-- and the sacrifices that come with that, you know, and especially in the time that we live in now with the pandemic. Kevin, like, I'm in contact with people now because I have to go to the gym, right? I have to go and train.

I have to or I can't win a fight. So now I can't even live with my family. So for the last six weeks, I haven't been able to live with my family.

KEVIN IOLE: Hm.

DANIEL CORMIER: I stayed at a different house from my wife and children because I'm coming in contact with different people because I'm training to fight. So it's-- it's a lot of sacrifice. And I don't know if, after this one, becoming the heavyweight champ again, if I'm going to be willing to do that again.

KEVIN IOLE: So you aren't willing to take your buddy Max Holloway's advice and do it via Zoom.

DANIEL CORMIER: No, I'm not training via Zoom. I can't believe he did that and thought so well. Max is lying, man. Max is lying. Max did not train on Zoom for that fight because he looked good.

KEVIN IOLE: I thought he was lying to me. But the whole time, he had nothing to say but, yes, I did. Yes, I did. And I'll tell you. The way, he performed it was-- it was something.

DANIEL CORMIER: Crazy. Yeah, it was crazy how well he fought under those circumstances.

KEVIN IOLE: Like, you know, let's talk about this rubber match. And I think you've got a big victory already because it's being fought in the 25 foot cage at Apex--

DANIEL CORMIER: [INAUDIBLE]

KEVIN IOLE: --as opposed into the big 34 cage it would be pretty much anywhere else in the world. You've said-- you've been quoted as saying, bring your wrestling shoes to Stipe. So it would seem to favor you.

His management actually went to the UFC and did everything it could to try to get it into the 30 foot cage, but no dice. Apparently-- I don't know if you even know this-- because they can't get the lighting rig. It would cost like multiple millions of dollars to change the lighting rig for the 30 foot cage. And so they-- it's-- they can't do that. But do you believe the 30-- the 25 foot cage is an advantage on your side?

DANIEL CORMIER: I think there are benefits to each, right? I think for me wanting to wrestle more, I think being in a smaller octagon does play to my advantage a little bit because he won't have as many exit routes, because when you're talking about the size of the cage, you're not talking about just five foot in general. It's about 2 and 1/2 feet at every corner, right? So it's a much bigger octagon for the pay per views. But the reality is, he's a big time puncher, and the smaller octagon keeps me in front of him a lot easier.

KEVIN IOLE: Right.

DANIEL CORMIER: It's easier for him to get to me too. So I don't think it plays as much of an advantage as people think. But yes, the fact that I want to wrestle more, it will help that. But I don't think it's as big an advantage as people are trying to make it.

KEVIN IOLE: I'll play the devil's advocate with you. You did pretty well in that second fight fighting the way you fought. Why go wrestling heavy when, you know, he made an adjustment in-- late in the fight that led to the victory. But you, for that the majority of that fight, were doing pretty well with your game plan. So why do you look at it and say I need to adjust when what you were doing for the longest period of time was working well?

DANIEL CORMIER: You know, I think that for all the success I had in the second fight, round two, round three, round three was probably the run that I had my most activity. I landed like 65 shots in the third round. But the easiest round of that fight was round one when I took him down and I controlled him for 2 and 1/2 minutes.

That was the easiest path to victory for me. That's why I made it more of a focus in this training camp was because I could go and stand with Stipe Miocic for 25 minutes and still feel confident that I would win because over the course of that 18 minute, 19 minutes fight, I won a lot of that fight standing. So I don't not have confidence in the stand up. But the easiest part of that fight for me, Kevin, was round one when I got the take down and I was able to control him on the top.

KEVIN IOLE: What was the change that he made? I mean, obviously, you started going to your body. But what led him to be able to land that punch that then, you know-- was there a good move that he made, or was it a mistake that you made?

DANIEL CORMIER: Fatigue, you know, fatigue. Kevin, I was very fatigued in that fight. You know, I wasn't in great shape.

I did not do the things necessary to win the fight. You know, I was very fatigued. And he started going to the body. And when you're tired and you're not doing things the right way, those mistakes that you may make sometimes, they're multiplied--

KEVIN IOLE: Right.

DANIEL CORMIER: --whenever you don't feel like you have the physical ability to correct them. So I think that, you know, the fatigue of the fight, the idea that I'd hit him so much, he was still there, all that played a part. And I just think that my body didn't respond to what my mind was saying to do.

Get your elbow down. It's a very simple thing, right? It's not like he's kicking me.

You know, I've struggled with Jones fights. He would kick me in the body a lot. Miocic landed those body shots with punches.

But if you watch, there were a lot of times where guys would try to go to my body and I'd get the elbow down. You know, I know how to fight. I know how to do that. But I think that-- I think fatigue starts to make you do things wrong. And they're all like multiplied because you can't respond.

KEVIN IOLE: Now I have to say I'm a little bit shocked to hear you say that because if somebody would have said to me, who are the most professional fighters in the UFC, one of the names would have been out of my mouth very quickly would have been Daniel Cormier. And to hear you say you go into a heavyweight title fight as the defending champion and you weren't-- you didn't have a good camp and you weren't ready, that's almost mind-blowing to me. What happened? How did that happen?

DANIEL CORMIER: Well, so first, it's not knowingly, Kevin. You know, it's not like-- you're not knowingly not working hard, right? So like, what you're doing is you go from 2018, this massive year that I had. And then on December 22, I have surgery on my back.

KEVIN IOLE: Mm-hm.

DANIEL CORMIER: Right? And this whole time, I'm like, I've got time. This Brock Lesnar thing is going to come around.

And then June, I think, May or June, they tell you Brock is not fighting. I'm like, OK, then I'll fight Stipe. They give you the date.

You start to work. But again, you've been on the shelf for five months of doing nothing, right? So now you're playing catch up. And then you're in a seven week training camp or six week training camp.

You're starting from scratch. You're not healthy. And then you understand that if you go too fast-- Stipe even said this himself. When you go too fast, you get hurt.

When you understand, the back's not 100%. So you can bare-- you don't-- I don't-- Kevin, I didn't run the whole camp. You know how important running is to fighters.

KEVIN IOLE: Of course.

DANIEL CORMIER: I didn't run the whole camp. I didn't kick and I didn't wrestle. I did all those things, like, at the very end of the training camp. So all I did essentially was box for two months, a month and a half before the fight.

So-- and then we made concessions. You know, when we're on the track and you're running and your back-- coach said, hey, if anything gets tight, just let me know. We'll adjust, you know?

And you're s guy that's had a ton of success. You know, you got a ton of money, and you're in your preparation. And you're afraid, you know, taht you're going to hurt yourself. So you start to make-- you start to accept those outs. But I made a very conscious decision this time that if I couldn't prepare as I did before, I'm just not going to fight.

KEVIN IOLE: OK.

DANIEL CORMIER: Point blank. I'll leave it as it is. And it's been good. I've been able-- I feel like this camp is what I needed to do last time.

KEVIN IOLE: So I always like the-- you know, to hear what you guys as fighters have to say about the mental aspect because I think the mental aspect of the game is so much. When you walked to the cage that night and you know in your heart of hearts that there were things, you know-- you didn't run. You didn't do all these things, everything you just outlined. What goes through your mind? Because you're facing a guy on the other side that's pretty damn determined to win.

DANIEL CORMIER: Yeah, to win.

KEVIN IOLE: Badass guy, one of the greatest fighters who ever lived himself-- you know, arguably the greatest heavyweight of all time. What goes through your mind when you know in your heart of hearts that that was true?

DANIEL CORMIER: Sadly, you can convince yourself of anything, right? We're fighters, right? Ego is like-- fighters are ego-driven.

That's one of the greatest qualities of being a fighter is that you can almost convince yourself of everything, and I convinced myself-- because I felt him in the first fight. So I felt like I was better than him. I was like, I feel like I can beat this dude even if things aren't exactly--

KEVIN IOLE: Sure.

DANIEL CORMIER: --the right way. So-- and then the fight started, and I was like, OK, this will be fine. You know, I was like, OK, I'll be fine. Then you start to get tired, and you start to question yourself in there.

KEVIN IOLE: Mm-hm.

DANIEL CORMIER: But the reality is, you can almost convince yourself of anything, right? You can convince yourself you're working as hard as you possibly can and all that and not necessarily see that truth. And I think I'm being honest with myself this time.

I'm not just telling-- I'm there, right? I'm there on the runs, right? I'm on the levee running.

I'm kicking every fight. I'm wrestling weekly with Olympians and national champions again, right? I'm in my wrestling shoes constantly.

So I know that I've done so much more than I did prior. It was difficult. It was very tough. But you know, I thought I was going to win.

KEVIN IOLE: So a couple of things I'll wrap up, just a couple more questions. I appreciate your time, Daniel. The eye poke was an issue, and Stipe has pointed to that.

You know, do you consider that a-- do you have to consciously think of keeping your fingers closed? Do you think that's something that in your career has been an issue for you? Or do you think he's just looking to, you know, point a finger?

DANIEL CORMIER: No, no. I think he's just in his assessments because it's happened more than once, you know? But you know, he poked me in the eye a couple of times in the first fight. It's not a big deal.

I don't think he got-- I think I poked him probably worse. But he's very fair. I think that one of the biggest mistakes that I make in there is that when I'm sparring with the 16 ounce gloves, because I'm shorter, at times I'll flick my hand out at my partner's, just to reach him. Well, there's no cover on the top of my gloves in the octagon. So I've been really trying to keep my hands closed, really trying to focus on keeping everything in tight going into the fight because there is no part of me that wants to stick my finger in his eyes and do long term damage to him. It doesn't work like that.

KEVIN IOLE: Interesting. And before I let you go, you know, I would be remiss not to ask you about Khabib and, you know, he's going to fight Justin Gaejthe for the Unified Lightweight Title on, what, was it UFC 255, I think it is, October--

DANIEL CORMIER: Yep.

KEVIN IOLE: --24. And you know, you know him as well as anybody in the United States. How do you think he's going to react after the death of his father and fighting a guy who's-- you would think, Justin Gaejthe, if anybody in the UFC has the style to beat Khabib-- and I'm not sure anybody does. But if anybody does, [INAUDIBLE] Justin Gaejthe, right?

DANIEL CORMIER: Mm-hm Well, he's--

KEVIN IOLE: How do you think he's going to react?

DANIEL CORMIER: I think he's going to fight his toughest opponent, you know? I think the vast majority of the world feels as though this is the toughest guy for him at 155. I think he'll be OK.

I think this is-- his ability to train and prepare for this and continue to work towards the goal that him and his father had together will allow for him to maybe come to terms with everything that's happening around him. You know, sometimes you need distraction, and you need motivation in different forms. And I think Khabib will use that as motivation.

He's a professional. He's a pro's pro, and he's going to prepare himself for the best of his ability. Javier Mendez is going to cornered me and do my fight.

And then a month later, he's going to head out to Russia and spend the last two months in Khabib's training camp with him. So it's-- the team will prepare him to the best of his ability. But he'll also be around his family who loves him. And now he'll see Javier from here, another familiar face to kind of help him get through a difficult time as he prepares to defend his title again.

KEVIN IOLE: You won't be in his training camp. Is there any chance fight night you would work his corner given you've been with him so much in the gym and you know, you know, what makes him tick?

DANIEL CORMIER: I don't know if-- I usually don't call Khabib's fights because it's too difficult, right? I'm too invested in him as a friend. But when he steps into the octagon, you know, I would love to be in the arena at some-- in some form or fashion to support my friend, you know?

I think that it's very important. He's our champion, you know? AKA, he's the only champion right now, and we hold him on high and we want to support him as much as we can. So yeah, I'd love to be in the building in some way, shape, or form.

KEVIN IOLE: But you know, given that, you know, the corner-- there is a spot in the corner for you, right? I mean, could you-- could you do that, or is that no?

DANIEL CORMIER: I mean, I haven't cornered anybody now for-- since-- the last time I cornered a fight was Luke Rockhold fought-- oh man, it's been years. Like, I haven't fought-- I haven't cornered anybody. [INAUDIBLE] I used to corner [INAUDIBLE] all the time because I was still coaching the wrestling.

KEVIN IOLE: Right.

DANIEL CORMIER: But I haven't done that for a minute now. I don't think-- I don't think--

KEVIN IOLE: [INAUDIBLE]

DANIEL CORMIER: --that me cornering somebody would be the right thing.

KEVIN IOLE: All right.

DANIEL CORMIER: I can just go.

KEVIN IOLE: Ha ha, just enjoy the fight. That's the best way to go.

DANIEL CORMIER: Yep. Yeah.

KEVIN IOLE: I tell you what, August 15, I know when I will be enjoying, and that is going to be a heavyweight championship fight-- the trilogy, the rubber match between you guys. Really look forward to it. DC, always a pleasure. Thank you so much for your time best of luck to you.

DANIEL CORMIER: Thanks, Kevin. You're the man.

KEVIN IOLE: Be well, brother.