Daniel Cormier might have won his first UFC title at light heavyweight, but that’s not where he got started.
Shorter than most of his foes, the 5’11” Cormier had his first 13 MMA fights in the heavyweight division.
The all-time great won the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix in 2012 a year before he made his Octagon debut against former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir at UFC on Fox 7.
At 34 years old, Daniel Cormier beat both Mir and ‘The Ultimate Fighter 10’ winner Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson to win his first two UFC fights by unanimous decision.
After this, Cormier dropped down to the light heavyweight division (205 lbs) and never fought at heavyweight again until a second title opportunity popped up against Stipe Miocic in 2018. Cormier won by first-round knockout.
So, what made ‘DC’ leave the division he’d one day rule over?
Daniel Cormier admits then champ Cain Velasquez would’ve beaten him
Interviewing Merab Dvalishvili on his YouTube channel, Cormier questioned ‘The Machine’ on why he didn’t fight his longtime friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling whenever he was still champion.
“Aljo taught me many things, he was my main training partner,” Dvalishvili explained.
“Like you and Cain Velasquez. You cut so much weight, you go to different weight class.
“You were the first example to escape that problem,” Dvalishvili told Cormier, saying he considered moving divisions because of Sterling.
Cain Velasquez was the reigning heavyweight champion when Cormier entered the UFC in 2013. Cormier and Velasquez long trained together at American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose, California.
However, Cormier noted it wasn’t their friendship that made him drop down to the light heavyweight division.
“I couldn’t… I was not gonna beat Cain,” Cormier told Dvalishvili.
“That’s why I was going down,” Cormier admitted.
“He was gonna beat me,” Cormier continued.
“I was like, I can’t beat this dude. You can’t beat him.
“Every day in practice, he beats me, so I know I’m not gonna fight this guy,” Cormier said of Velasquez.
Cormier recently claimed that nobody in the UFC would have beaten Velasquez, if it weren’t for injuries.
Merab Dvalishvili says he ‘can’t beat’ Aljamain Sterling
Despite criticism from UFC boss Dana White and some of the MMA world, Merab Dvalishvili and Aljamain Sterling went their whole careers without having to fight each other.
A top contender for a while, Dvalishvili finally became bantamweight champion after Sterling lost the belt to Sean O’Malley in 2023, avenging his teammate twice over with wins at UFC 306 and UFC 316.
Dvalishvili explains why he never entertained a fight with Sterling.
“After [fight], could be weird even if I lost,” Dvalishvili said.
“[If] we fight for the money, we fight, somebody’s legacy will [be] ruined.”
Dvalishvili also related to Cormier saying he didn’t want to fight Velasquez.
“I can’t beat Aljo,” Dvalishvili told Cormier.