‘Skinny Daniel Cormier Isn’t Real’: Fans Spot ‘Fresh Prince of Bell Air’ Vibes as DC’s Old Picture From College Wrestling Goes Viral

Smrutisnat Jena | 03/02/2025
, 151002 Mästaren Daniel Cormier klarar vikten inför sin titelmatch mot Sveriges Alexander Gustafsson pa UFC 192 i Toyota Center den 3 oktober 2015 i Houston. PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxSWExNORxFINxDEN Copyright: MeddixKabirzadehx xBILDBYRÃÖN BB151002BB574

Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev often makes fun of UFC veteran Daniel Cormier for the weight he’s put on since retiring from MMA. Islam even turned Khabib Nurmagomedov’s flight fiasco into a ‘fat joke’ directed at Cormier. However, did you know that DC wasn’t always like this? Of course, he was in better shape during his fighting days but that’s not what we are talking about either!

An MMA fan probably scourged the deep ends of the internet for this picture but he did find it. It is from Cormier’s days as a college wrestling champion. And boy, does he look good!

As far as the caption goes, let’s be honest. Skinny or not, DC can hurt you.

Now, people obviously couldn’t believe this was Cormier and joked that Artificial Intelligence had gone too far this time. There were a lot of comments like “AI is getting out of control” and “I don’t believe it, this is AI for sure“. But what really cracked everyone up was a comparison to characters from an iconic Will Smith 1990s sitcom.

This fan aptly pointed out as much as he said, “Looks like a side character from Fresh Prince of Bel Air“.

Some others brought in Makhachev into the conversation and joked, “Nobody show this to Islam“. This fan, who seemingly meant business, hypothesized about Cormier fighting at middleweight in the UFC and said, “Could you imagine DC just throwing people out of the damn cage at 185? He was already UFC Champ and ran the heavyweight division for a while. He would’ve been an absolute terror in the smaller weight classes“.

Well, he could have been. But truth be told, he was a terror in the light heavyweight division as well. There’s a good chance he didn’t move to heavyweight in his prime because his teammate Cain Velasquez was still competing for the title there!

He might act all cuddly and funny, while never taking himself seriously now. But those who watched Cormier drop opponents on their heads, know better.

Rogan calls Cormier ‘a tank of a human being’

By the time DC got to the UFC in his 30s, he didn’t have any abs. He was 5’11” and a little bit potbellied.

And yet in his 26-fight run in the sport, he fought guys that were much bigger and looked far stronger than him. He defeated almost all of them and retired with an incredible record of 22-3-0 (1 NC).

Joe Rogan had the best seat in the house to watch most of these fights. In an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, he talked about the intensity that Cormier would bring into the octagon.

“He’s just such an insane tank of a human being. His wrestling was so insane and just his will was so insane. Dominated two different divisions. He was a killer. The nicest f***ing guy you’d ever meet in your life… If you were hanging around him, you’d never believe that could pick up anybody in the room and smash them on their head. You would never believe it.”

Rogan’s not even exaggerating. During the course of his career, Cormier fought and won against the likes of Anthony Johnson, Alexander Gustafsson, Anderson Silva, Derrick Lewis, Frank Mir, and Stipe Miocic.

It’s incredible how Cormier has transformed himself, handling his transition from being a star fighter to a broadcaster really well.

Post Edited By: Dhruv Rupani
Daniel Cormier Joe Rogan

About the author

Smrutisnat Jena

Smrutisnat Jena is a UFC Editor with The SportsRush. With 8 years of experience under his belt, Smrutisnat has had a career that has travelled through the multiverse of journalism, be it politics, entertainment or satire. But as a practitioner of amateur wrestling, his true love has always been combat sports. After being introduced to Chuck Liddell at the age of 8, working with MMA has always been THE goal for him. When he's away from work, Smrutisnat likes hanging out with dogs, and sparring with his teammates at the local gym, often simultaneously.

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