UFC president Dana White has confirmed that Daniel Cormier has asked to be removed from the USADA testing pool & UFC rankings.
Cormier’s mixed martial arts career seemingly came to an end at UFC 252 last month as he was beaten by Stipe Miocic in their third and final fight for the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
Cormier confirmed his retirement plans post-fight, and with this latest slice of information from White, it does feel like this is the definitive end for the former two-weight world champion.
Dana White says Daniel Cormier informed the UFC today to remove him from the USADA testing pool and to remove him from the rankings to make his retirement official. #UFC
— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) September 2, 2020
“Dana White says Daniel Cormier informed the UFC today to remove him from the USADA testing pool and to remove him from the rankings to make his retirement official.” – Damon Martin of MMA Fighting.
When asked recently about why now is the right time to walk away, Cormier had the following to say.
“I’m not going to fight anymore,” Cormier said. “I was talking to Joe Rogan after the fight, and I told him my interest is fighting for championships, and I can’t imagine with a loss that I’d be fighting for a belt again. I lost two fights in a row for the first time in my career. You’ve got to understand when it’s time, and the reality is part of the reason I got hit with that right hand by Stipe is because I’m older. You can’t fight father time.”
“At 41 years old, I fought the heavyweight champion of the world three rounds to two with the idea that I wanted to win,” Cormier added. “I didn’t go in there trying to give a good account of myself. I wanted to win the fight and I still believe I can beat Stipe Miocic. But every day that passes, it doesn’t work in my favor.”
“I feel like I’m closing the door shut on this thing. It’s over. And I’m not sad about it. I’m not sad. I’m going to miss it. I’m going to miss the training camps. I’m going to miss the fights. There’s nothing like a fight week, but you have to understand when it’s your time. I feel like it’s time,” Cormier concluded.