Daniel Ryan Cormier (/ˈkɒrmɪeɪ/; born March 20, 1979) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, freestyle wrestler, and current color commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

In 1995, Cormier won a bronze medal in the World Championships in Greco-Roman Wrestling Cadet (15–16 years old) division.

He was also an All-State football player in high school at the linebacker position and had a personal best time of 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

Another major accomplishment came in 2005, when Cormier became one of a select few Americans to win a gold medal at the Golden Grand-Prix Ivan Yarygin, held in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, and considered by many the most challenging wrestling tournament in the world.

[14] Cormier also competed and represented the Oklahoma Slam team in the now-defunct Real Pro Wrestling league.

While he competed in Real Pro Wrestling, he was teammates with fellow Strikeforce mixed martial arts competitor Muhammed Lawal, who also was a season 1 champion, in the 184 lb weight class.

After making his professional debut in September 2009, Cormier traveled to Australia and fought for Xtreme MMA.

[18] Two weeks later, Cormier won his second MMA title by winning the KOTC Heavyweight Championship from Tony Johnson.

[20] Cormier fought at the event Strikeforce Challengers: Johnson vs. Mahe on March 26, 2010, in Fresno, California,[21] where he defeated John Devine by KO.

[22] Shortly thereafter, Cormier fought Strikeforce: Houston event on August 21, 2010, defeating Jason Riley via submission (punches) at 1:02 into the fight.

[23] Cormier next fought Devin Cole at the Strikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Saffiedine event on January 7, 2011, in Nashville, Tennessee.

[25] Cormier was scheduled to face Shane del Rosario at Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum on June 18, 2011, in Dallas, Texas,[26] but his opponent was involved in a car accident and withdrew from the bout.

[28] Despite Cormier's reservations about competing in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix due to inexperience, height and reach disadvantage over the rest of the field, he nonetheless entered, and faced Antônio Silva on only five weeks' notice on September 10, 2011, at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov, replacing Alistair Overeem.

[33] Cormier won the five-round fight by unanimous decision (49–46, 50–45, and 50–45) and became the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion.

Some writers expressed doubt in his ability to cut down to the 205 limit safely, citing the fact that Cormier had suffered kidney failure during his time as an Olympic wrestler when trying to make 211 lbs.

[44] Cormier was expected to face Rashad Evans at UFC 170 on February 22, 2014, in his first fight at light heavyweight.

[45] However, a leg injury knocked Evans off the card ten days before the event, and he was replaced by newcomer Patrick Cummins.

[49] After dominating the fight with his wrestling and top game, Cormier choked Henderson to sleep to win via technical submission in the third round.

[56] However, on April 28, 2015, it was announced that Jon Jones had been stripped of the light heavyweight championship and suspended indefinitely after facing felony charges stemming from a traffic accident in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Subsequently, Cormier was pulled from the Bader fight and replaced Jones against Anthony Johnson on May 23, 2015, at UFC 187 for the vacant title.

[64] However, Cormier pulled out of the fight on April 1 citing a foot injury and was replaced by Ovince Saint Preux.

[68] Cormier fought former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva in a 3-round non-title fight at the event.

Jones defeated Cormier, recapturing the light heavyweight championship via knockout in the third round, after a head kick and a barrage of strikes on the ground.

[75] In the post-fight interview, a tearful and emotional Cormier showed disappointment of the defeat and said "I guess if he wins both fights there is no rivalry.

[77] On August 22, it was announced that Jones had been flagged for a potential doping violation by USADA stemming from his test sample that was collected after weigh-ins on July 28.

[85] He won the fight via knockout in the first round, becoming the second fighter to hold two titles simultaneously in the UFC.

[86] Provoked by Cormier after his victory, Brock Lesnar emerged from the audience and came into the octagon to accept the challenge by the new champion.

[93] Despite his early success, Cormier lost the fight by TKO in the fourth round, ending his reign as heavyweight champion.

[131][132] In February 2015, Cormier starred in the video clip All About That Cake, a parody of All About That Bass, to promote the 2015 World MMA Awards.

[135] On October 8, 2022, Cormier was the special guest referee in the MMA inspired Fight Pit match between Seth Rollins and Matt Riddle at WWE Extreme Rules 2022.