It is unknown at this time as to when former two division UFC champion Daniel Cormier will compete again, but that hasn’t stopped the UFC and USADA from honoring the fighter.
DC was recently honored by the promotion and drug testing agency for becoming the first fighter to reach 50 clean drug tests.
“I’ve done a lot of things in my career, and honestly, this is one of the more proud things that I’ve accomplished,” Cormier said during the ceremony (via Mike Bohn & John Morgan of MMA Junkie). “To be able to compete at a high level for a long time and still have these, to receive something like this – 85 tests (overall), all clean tests. To do it the right way means a ton to me. Being a guy that wants to encourage youth sports, youth athletics – you have to do things the right way, or else your message goes above a kid’s head. I’m so extremely proud of this honor.”
Former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm has already been honored for the same milestone, although Cormier did reach the milestone first.
Cormier says that there was never a temptation to take any kind of illegal substances throughout his combat sports career.
“To get here where I am today, I was blessed with a lot of gifts, a lot of talents – naturally,” Cormier said. “I didn’t want to forsake that by trying to enhance myself. I was going to be as good as I was going to be –nothing more, nothing less. You can’t cheat that. I wasn’t going to risk my long-term health for some more money or a couple championships. I’ve got enough of them. I got to live my life in the spotlight, and I just did it through hard work. When you keep those things in perspective, there’s no temptation. I was never tempted to do anything like that.”
Jose Aldo, former UFC Featherweight Champion, is also expected to be honored in the future for reaching the same milestone as Cormier and Holm.
