Daniel Cormier’s body has taken a constant beating over his illustrious combat fighting career. From Olympic-level wrestling to high-level MMA and a lifetime of weight cutting, the injuries have mounted, including his well-documented back pain.
So when his nutritionist suggested trying CBD, Cormier was cautiously optimistic that the product could help extend his career. The former UFC champion began using CBD products ahead of his fight with Derek Lewis in New York, where he famously took the bout on short notice.
“I relied on the product to help get me there,” Cormier said in an interview with UPROXX Sports. “I took that fight on three weeks. Three weeks into a fight camp, I’m so sore I can barely walk down the stairs. I give a lot of credit to the CBD product to get me where I am and able to defend the title in New York.”
Now, as a member of the cbdMD team, Cormier is ready to continue fighting at a high level at the spry age of 41 years old.
“The group of guys on the cbdMD team, Tyron Woodley, Rampage Jackson, Michael Bisping, they’re guys whose word I trust. Michael Bisping’s word means something to me. He wasn’t trying to sell me on something that wasn’t helping him become a UFC champion late in his career. He was certain this was the product for me that it would put my mind at ease and made me even more comfortable,” Cormier said. “Since I started taking the product, I’ve been able to rest more, I’ve gotten better sleep and I’ve recovered better. These products can extend the career if that’s what you’re looking to do. It allows you to recover, train better and sleep better. For me, it’s been in the recovery. It’s allowing me to be at ease and take the edge off. “
Training better is of utmost importance for Cormier, who is working toward an eventual return bout against UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.
“There’s some dates, but nothing is guaranteed. I’m waiting for this whole thing to be settled, waiting for normal,” Cormier said. “I think at this point, you take everything one at a time. I’m not a young guy anymore. I’m a guy who needs to focus on the task at hand, and that’s Stipe Miocic for right now. Other than that, we’ll see what happens.”
For the former UFC heavyweight champion, a a third fight against Miocic is more than just a another shot at a title. Cormier’s loss to Miocic in August 2019 gave him just his second loss of his career. With a third fight against Jon Jones unlikely, this could be his only shot at redemption.
“When you lose to a guy like Stipe Miocic, he beat me and I need to go get that right. If I don’t get that right, I don’t know how I’m going to live with myself. It’s a sucky proposition for a guy like me who’s as competitive as I am,” Cormier said. “When you’re a guy like me, who has done so much in this sport, every time you set foot in the Octagon, your reputation as one of those guys in (the greatest of all-time) conversation is on the line. You can go from being surely one of those guys and the next moment you’re an afterthought. I can’t stress enough how important it is for me to be so focused on this fight and this fight only.”
There’s no current return date for Cormier-Miocic III, but early estimations originally predicted sometime in the summer. That could be pushed into the fall as the UFC scrambles to make up other postponed cards.