UFC 226: Three Reasons Why Daniel Cormier Is The Toughest Opponent Of Stipe Miocic’s Career

2 – Cormier can match wrestling skills with Stipe Miocic like no has ever done before him.

Daniel Cormier is one of the few people in the world who can get down on the mat with Miocic and actually match him move for move in wrestling.  Cormier has an extensive and glorious background in wrestling.

He was a two-time junior college national champion at 197 pounds, in 1998 and 1999. His record was 61-0, with 33 falls at Colby Community College. From there he transferred to Oklahoma State University.   In 2000, Cormier went 26-5. He entered the national tournament as the #3 seed at 184 pounds, but fell one match short of becoming an all-American.  In 2001 Cormier went 27-5.

He became an all-American by reaching the finals of the 184 pound weight class, where he lost to Cael Sanderson 8-4. His final record was 53-10, with 27 falls. 6 of Cormier’s losses were against Cael Sanderson. For those of you unfamiliar with Sanderson, he is widely regarded as the greatest amateur wrestler of all time.

His success on the mat didn’t stop after college as he continued his dominant ways on the mat.  He was the senior U.S. national champion each year from 2003–2008, while representing team USA at the world level for each of those years. He competed at 96 kg, or 211.6 lbs. At the 2004 Olympics he took 4th place after losing to Khadzhimurat Gatsalov in the semi-finals.  He was literally one win away from gaining at the very least, a bronze medal.  He was named captain of the 2008 team, before pulling out with a kidney failure.

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