Daniel Cormier gives precise date for his retirment from MMA

Last weekend, in the co-main event of UFC 220, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier defended his title with a second-round TKO of Volkan Oezdemir. From the sounds of it, this will probably one of the last fights of Cormier’s career.

While he hopes to fight through 2018, Cormier said on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour that he will retire by March 20, 2019 – the day of his 40th birthday.

“Come March [of this year], I will have 12 months, at max, left,” Cormier said. “I’m going to be done by Mar. 20, 2019. I won’t be fighting again.”

Cormier then elaborated on the reasons for his choice to retire at 40.

“I’m going to be done at 40,” He said. “I won’t be back. There won’t be jumping around or, ‘I’m done until I get the right type of fight.’ It’ll be over. I’m not going to be doing this anymore. I’ve said time and time again that I’ve lived a great life in sports. I’ve loved every moment of it. My family has revolved around sports. Not only my family – [my wife] Selena and the kids – but also my mom and my dad.”

“I’ve been the center of the athletic universe for my family for a really, really long time. It’s time for that to be little Daniel and Marquita. It’s time for them to be the center of our athletic competition, and I just want to be one of those crazy dads that gets to yell on the sideline and just go crazy and brag about his kids.”

Cormier then weighed in on possible opponents for the final bouts of his career, discussing Alexander Gustafsson and Jon Jones.

“It’s not about them anymore; it’s about me. It’s my story,” Cormier said. “I don’t care who I fight over the course of this next 14 months. It’s going to be who’s deserving. My legacy, my career, is not tied to beating Alexander (Gustafsson) more convincingly this time or finally beating Jon Jones. It doesn’t matter to me anymore. It’s about me and what I’m doing.

“At the end of the day, I have to be OK with my career when it’s said and done, and my career is good with me when it’s said and done, whether I beat Jones or if I have to beat Gustafsson, or if I never face him. I’m fine with everything.”

Who do you want to see Daniel Cormier fight before he retires?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/23/2018.