Issue 193

November 2020

The retired heavyweight legend reflects on his career and looks forward to greater glory.

We could talk about you being a champion in every organization you ever fought in, being a champ-champ but the most important is being the King of Lafayette, right?

Yes it is. I love that Dustin (Poirier) and I are even having this competition. It probably means as much to me as any championship I ever won, honestly, because I love my city. I love my city more than anything. I am proud to be from Lafayette, Louisiana. 

You posted a school picture of yourself on social media recently. You had to be seven or eight years old, at most. What would the young DC, maybe even the DC in that picture, think about the man you have become today? 

I have no idea. He wouldn’t believe it. If I’m being honest with you. Tony, I grew up on the north side of Lafayette. It’s not known as the better side of our town. That kid just had dreams but no real idea of how his life would look any different than anybody else’s life that grew up there. He was just happy to be surrounded by people that loved him. He always felt and knew that he was never alone in life. I don’t know for sure but I think he would be very happy with his life. He would be super grateful that I had these opportunities. He would almost be in awe. That little boy, he didn’t have anything. It’s truly like, no lie, it’s impossible to think this would come to be. There is no other way to say it. You can’t even really dream this big, if I’m being honest, especially in a sport like MMA. You always hoped and wished that if you ever became anything it would be in basketball or football because that is what we all wished for back then. To think that I took my wrestling career and turned it into this, that little boy had never even stepped on a wrestling mat at that point.

Many high-level athletes find it hard to find a new outlet for their competitive fire after retirement. How are you going to continue to stoke that competitive fire?

I compete in everything. I will compete in the commentary. I was on a mainstream show the other day, I think it was Dan Le Batard, and after I did the interview they put up a poll asking if Daniel Cormier was better at fighting or talking about fighting. Seventy five percent of the mainstream sports fans said talking about fighting! I am competing to be the best commentator and broadcaster. Obviously, I am doing a really good job if the whole world thinks I am better at talking about fighting than fighting or they have not been paying close enough attention. It’s crazy!

You have so many opportunities with ESPN, the podcasts, with the UFC and on and on. You have been wildly successful in so many avenues. Your future is as bright or brighter than anyone who has ever hung it up in their sport moving forward. Do you feel a sense of excitement at how much you have waiting for you in retirement?

That’s the scariest thing. As my last camp got so long and I was in Groundhog Day, I tried not to look forward but you are right. I have a lot of big things on the horizon. I have been lucky. That is another thing I am very proud of. If guys want to know how to try to build a career and prepare themselves for retirement, it will let them realize that retirement doesn’t have to be crazy scary. It doesn’t have to be scary to be done with the sport. If you do things the correct way you can build a future that can be even bigger. I believe that the second part, or the third part of my life, can be even bigger than what I did inside the Octagon. I hope that I have used this platform that I’ve had to put myself in a position to capitalize and ensure that my family is good for the rest of our lives.

Over the course of your career with the UFC, you basically blazed a trail for your own version of ‘The Art of The Deal’, if you will. You’ve handled yourself well in negotiations. You talked about turning and seeing what was on page seven of the contract, the numbers and the bottom line. As we sit here talking about your career being on page seven, how do you feel about the signature on your career?

I think when it’s all said and done, people will respect all that I did in the Octagon. Honestly, they will look at what I did outside the cage and see how I carried myself in life and think I did it the right way. I believe that the respect for everything I did will be appreciated even more when I am gone and I’m OK with that. I have always said that a lot of these accolades and fame will fade but the legacy that I leave won’t go anywhere. It’s always going to be the exact same. It will last forever. My legacy will be that I did it the right way, that I fought my ass off every time I walked in there and that I won...a lot. That is the best way to be remembered.