Both Khabib Nurmagomedov and Georges St-Pierre did something that very few fighters can say that they accomplished.
They left the sport on top having retired as UFC champions without being knocked off of their perch because they stuck around for too long.
Following the passing of his father and coach, Nurmagomedov laid his gloves down in the Octagon after UFC 254, walking away in 2020 with an undefeated record of 29-0.
Though St-Pierre did have a short-lived return, injuries prevented him from competing after he won the middleweight title with ‘Rush’ choosing to vacate the belt.
Now, another man in the UFC Hall of Fame and a close friend of Nurmagomedov has spoken about how he wishes he’d ended his career in a similar fashion.
Daniel Cormier wishes he’d retired like Khabib Nurmagomedov and Georges St-Pierre
During a recent appearance on the WOLFpak podcast, Daniel Cormier opened up about MMA retirements and why so many fighters end their careers the hard way.
‘DC’ drew from personal experience as he spoke about the final two fights of his career where he completed his trilogy of bouts with Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title.
At UFC 226 in 2018, Cormier made history as a simultaneous two-weight champion by stopping Miocic in the first round to hold both the heavyweight and light heavyweight titles above his head.
He went on to defeat Derrick Lewis later on that year before suffering back-to-back losses to Miocic which took place nearly exactly one year apart.
Cormier said that for fighters who are coming towards the end of their careers, they need to listen to the signs rather than ignoring them.
“Your mind will actually tell you. You know when it’s time. Not everybody gets what Khabib got. Khabib literally got a fairy tale. He and Georges St-Pierre got to leave on top. Not everybody gets that.
“Listen to what’s available—the signs, everything that’s pinging at your mind. When you don’t love to train anymore, you’re probably done. When you don’t love the competition or look forward to it anymore, you’re probably done.”
Cormier’s coach, Javier Mendez, also appeared on the podcast, adding that he didn’t want his fighter to fight Miocic for a second and third time.
‘DC’ agreed that this was likely the right call but at the time, he wasn’t paying attention to everything that was pointing him towards retirement which including the limitations that were put on his preparations due to the pandemic.
“Honestly, I didn’t need to fight that last fight against Stipe, the last two. I didn’t need to. I just wanted to fight and I wasn’t ready to let go.
“There was way too much money at the time, the money got way too good but we did a training camp in my garage because they shut down AKA. I should’ve recognised it then and listened to everything.”
Daniel Cormier suffered two of his three career defeats in his final Octagon appearances
Heading into the first of his three fights with Stipe Miocic, Daniel Cormier only had one defeat on his record.
He was beaten by Jon Jones via a unanimous decision at UFC 182 and though ‘Bones’ did get his hand raised for a second time in their UFC 214 rematch, the result was later overturned.
Though Cormier’s second fight with Miocic provided a great clash for the heavyweight title, his legacy would have been even stronger if he had walked away before losing the belt at UFC 241.
Their third and final meeting, which took place at the UFC Apex, was a strange fight all around but it also provided the clear marker that it was time for Cormier to call it a day.