LAS VEGAS – Daniel Cormier rebounded from more personal and professional adversity in his 35 years on this planet than most people could experience in several lifetimes.
So as tough as it was to come up short in challenging Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight championship on Saturday night at UFC 182, the 15-1 Cormier has vowed to pick himself up off the mat yet again.
“I’ve had to rebuild myself a number of times like people can’t even imagine,” said Cormier, as he fought back tears during the post-fight press conference at the MGM Grand. “And, this is no different. This is not going to ruin me.”
Cormier’s setbacks in his personal life have included the death of his daughter. Professionally, he’s been a stellar performer, but has come up short on the biggest stage, including a fourth-place wrestling finish in the 2004 Olympics.
“I’ve been trying to become a champion for a really long time,” Cormier said. “At the highest level, it really hasn’t worked out for me. This one’s tough. I truly believed that I could get the job done. I thought I could get the job done.:
DC has gained popularity for his insightful commentary as an analyst, and even in the wake of his loss to Jones, he had a clear-cut breakdown of how the fight went wrong.
“I thought the first round he did well and toward the end of the round i started gaining a little momentum,” Cormier said. “I thought second round I won, third round I thought I started the round well and didn’t finish it well. Fourth round I took it off, he won that round going away. Then the fifth round we didn’t do much at all, we kind of hugged each other for five minutes.”
Cormier refused to make any excuses for the loss.
“That’s what happens when you go as hard as we did,” Cormier said. “He won the fight, I don’t know how to judge a fight. I know I lost and Jon won, that’s really all it boils down to.”