Former UFC champ Daniel Cormier honored as first to 50 clean USADA tests

LAS VEGAS – Former two-weight UFC champion Daniel Cormier was the first MMA athlete under the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency program to reach 50 “flawless” drug tests, and Thursday he was honored for it.

During a presentation at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Cormier (22-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC), the former champ at heavyweight and light heavyweight, was given a custom letterman’s jacket by UFC VPs of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky and Donna Marcolini for his achievement.

Cormier, 41, is the second UFC athlete to be recognized for hitting the 50-test milestone of clean samples. Former women’s bantamweight titleholder Holly Holm was recently given the same distinction, however, Cormier reached the mark first.

Cormier’s clean drug test history dates back before his MMA career, as well. He has more than 30 additional test results from USADA dating back to his amateur wrestling career, bringing his lifetime mark above 80.

“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. “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.”

In the debut year of the UFC/USADA partnership, Cormier submitted four clean samples. He provided 11 in 2016, 13 in 2017, 16 in 2018, nine in 2019 and has one so far in 2020. Many fighters have experienced test failures along the way (some legitimate and others not). Cormier has felt the wrath of that, such as when his UFC 200 fight with Jon Jones was called off just three days prior when his rival was flagged with a potential violation.

Cormier said the key to reaching the 50-test mark has been avoiding the serious substances like true steroids, but also being diligent elsewhere. Some fighters have been impacted by tainted supplements or accidentally ingesting a substance they shouldn’t have. None of that has happened to Cormier, and he said it takes not only being mindful himself, but also having a good support system.

“When I was a young kid, I was Superman. I didn’t even have to take supplements,” Cormier said. “I just kind of did what I did. But now, as an older man, I do have to take a lot of things. And before I take anything, we make sure to call Jeff. He’s very open and knowledgable with his phone line and you can just go on USADA’s website and check to see if that supplement you’re about to take is going to be an issue. You have the resources to not make mistakes, but I take what my nutritionist gives me.”

Cormier admitted there are moments over the course of his athletic lifespan that he could’ve slipped up and done something foolish, but he always stayed true to the mentality of being a clean athlete, and said he will continue that going forward.

“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.”