Daniel Cormier will not follow in the footsteps of Randy Couture or BJ Penn.
Instead, the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion will step away from being an active fighter before he turns 40 years old.
“Come March (of this year), I will have 12 months, at max, left,” Cormier said on The MMA Hour recently. “I’m going to be done by March 20, 2019. I won’t be fighting again.”
Cormier (20-1) pushed his UFC record to 9-1 with a finish of Volkan Oezdemir this past weekend at UFC 220. The win was his first title defense since becoming the champion again when the promotion stripped Jon Jones of the title.
For “DC,” his next step likely involves the sport, as he is already a mainstay on FOX Sports 1 programming for UFC events.
“I’m going to be done at 40,” Cormier said. “I won’t be back. There won’t be jumping around or, ‘I’m done until I get the right type of fight.’ It’ll be over. I’m not going to be doing this anymore. I’ve said time and time again that I’ve lived a great life in sports. I’ve loved every moment of it. My family has revolved around sports. Not only my family, (wife) Selena and the kids – but also my mom and my dad.
“I’ve been the center of the athletic universe for my family for a really, really long time. It’s time for that to be little Daniel and Marquita. It’s time for them to be the center of our athletic competition, and I just want to be one of those crazy dads that gets to yell on the sideline and just go crazy and brag about his kids.”
As for a potential third meeting with Jones, Cormier isn’t concerned with who he fights over the next year-plus.
“At the end of the day, I have to be OK with my career when it’s said and done, and my career is good with me when it’s said and done, whether I beat Jones or if I have to beat (Alexander) Gustafsson, or if I never face him,” he said. “I’m fine with everything.”
