Daniel Cormier Wife, Daughter, Height, Weight, Measurements, Net Worth

Quick Facts

Daniel Cormier is a retired Olympic wrestler, mixed martial artist, and UFC fighter. Considered to be the all-time greatest MMA fighter, Cormier is third on the list of best pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC.

Nevertheless, his life has not been all about winning – perhaps his greatest opponent in life has been death, which has defeated him on numerous occasion and has taken away people dear to him. Read more to get to know this UFC Light Heavyweight champion better.

Daniel Cormier Bio

Daniel Cormier was born Daniel Omar Cormier on March 20, 1979, in Lafayette, Louisiana. He is one of the four children born to his parents – Joseph and Audrey Cormier. His siblings are an older brother, Joseph, a sister, Felicia and a younger brother, Ferral Cormier. He is said to have attended a couple of high schools. He is linked to Louisiana High School and Northside High School. After high school, Cormier attended Colby Community College for two years before he transferred to Oklahoma State University where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology.

Early Life and Career

Daniel Cormier has known tragedy twice in his life. He lost his father to a domestic shooting when he was eight, and as an adult, he lost his three-month-old daughter in a car accident. The wrestler, however, has used these tragedies to propel himself forward. Read all about his tragic experiences and stellar career.

He went into wrestling after he was caught fighting in the school parking lot. Interrupting the two young schoolmates who were so busy aiming a folded fists at each other, the school wrestling coach (who stopped the fight) advised that there was a productive way of fighting and that was through the school wrestling team, Days later, Cormier signed up and joined the school’s wrestling team.

While in high school (Northside High School), Cormier competed in wrestling championships at the state level (Louisiana State Championships) and won 3 titles and was voted outstanding wrestler in the state championship two times. By the time he was leaving the school, he had only lost 9 times in 110 wrestling duels. Having conquered the state, Cormier wrestled in the Greco-Roman world wrestling championships in 1995 and took home a bronze medal in the cadet division.

Daniel Cormier also played American football in high school as a linebacker. He was so good at it that he was offered a scholarship to further play at the prestigious Louisiana State University (LSU) which he turned down in preference to a career in wrestling. He joined the Colby Community College where he continued his wrestling adventure and won the college national championship back to back in 1998 and 1999.

His wrestling record at the college was impeccable with 61 wins and no defeat before he transferred to Oklahoma State University (OSU) in 2000 and went 26-5 in the same year. He became an all-American in 2001 (after falling short by one match in the previous year) and his final record was 53 wins and 10 losses (with six of his losses coming against ). 

Daniel Cormier became the champion of the dissolved Real Pro Wrestling league in 2004, which was its only season. He represented the United States at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics in the wrestling category (even though he pulled out of his bouts in the 2008 event because of kidney failure, he was, however, the team’s captain). He was also the U.S. national champion consecutively between 2003 and 2008. In 2003 and 2005, Cormier picked up the gold medals at the quadrennial Pan American Games. In 2007, he won bronze at the Wrestling World Championships.

He retired from wrestling after an issue with kidney failure in 2008 prevented him from training for 12 months. He made his comeback in 2009 but this time in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). He trained with American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose, California with other kickboxers and it gave him a different approach in his style of combat. His first fight in the MMA was in September 2009 which he won.

He also fought in the Xtreme Mixed Martial Arts (XMMA)  Heavyweight Championship and won his first MMA title. His second title – KOTC Heavyweight Championship – came two weeks later after he defeated the then-champion, Tony Johnson. He signed up with the Strikeforce organization for eight fights and won all of them. He is currently fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) where he is the Light Heavyweight Champion.

Net Worth

For all his successes in the ring – from his days in wrestling to the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and to his fighting in the UFC, the American-born UFC Light Heavyweight Champion has amassed quite a fortune for himself. His salary cannot be calculated as his is not paid monthly or weekly but per fight. Fans who want to know what he is worth would be glad to know that Daniel Cormier has a net worth of $4 million dollars presently.

Daniel Cormier’s Wife, Daughter

Daniel Cormier is presently married to longtime girlfriend, Salina Deleon. He proposed to her on July 4, 2014, at the Chateau Gardens in Las Vegas and they tied the knots three years later on May 27, 2017. They have two kids together, a son, Daniel Jr. (born on February 16, 2011) and a daughter, Marquita Cormier (March 4, 2012).

Cormier had a daughter, Kaedyn Imri Cormier with his then-girlfriend, Carolyn Flowers, a track athlete at Oklahoma State. He, however, lost her to the cold hands of death in a car accident on June 14, 2003, when an 18-wheeler truck ran into the car which was carrying the 3-month old child in Austin, Texas. He was also previously married to a woman known only by her first name, Robin in 2002. However, they were divorced in 2003 and the marriage was annulled.

Other Facts – Height, Weight, Measurements

Daniel Cormier is 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) tall but has a history of getting under taller opponents in a fight. He weight is 205 lbs (93 kg) and his body measurements are not available.

He was offered a chance to be a part of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) but he turned it down.

The ailment (kidney failure) that stopped him from wrestling at the Bejing Olympics in 2008 also saw him retire prematurely from wrestling entirely.

He is currently the assistant coach at the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA), San Jose, California.

Daniel Cormier’s son, Daniel Jr., is following the footsteps of his father and trains at the AKA in amateur wrestling.

Cormier never tasted defeat in all of his 11 fights in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), including eight fights in Strikeforce.

He has an eternal rivalry with Jon Jones in the UFC.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.