On the surface, Daniel Cormier seems cheerful and easygoing. But when he coaches, he enforces the same strict discipline as Khabib Nurmagomedov. This week, while most of the world celebrated Christmas and the UFC took a month-long break, DC, however, kept his students busy.

Even after retiring from MMA, Daniel Cormier still commands attention as a prominent voice on the UFC commentary team. The former NCAA champion also serves as head coach at Gilroy High School and owns his own wrestling academy, shaping the next generation of wrestlers, some of whom may even become MMA stars. But to do so, DC and his students need to work overtime during the holiday season.

Daniel Cormier reveals grueling holiday schedule for his high school wrestlers

UFC veteran Josh Thomson recently visited Daniel Cormier’s home, where the UFC legend said he finally found some free time in his hectic schedule. “I had a match on Monday, no, Monday I had practices, two of them, and then just hung out with my kids. Then Tuesday, we had a match out in Bakavville, like two hours away, earlier,” Cormier told Thomson on the Weighing In podcast.

During the podcast, Thomson asked Daniel Cormier why he pushes high school athletes so hard during Christmas week. DC explained that, with big tournaments coming in the months ahead, he and his team schedule matches before Christmas so they do not interrupt the holiday break.

“If we get the match in before because we wrestled this team in Bakersfield, they’re a good team in the northern area, Northern California. Last year, we did it after Christmas, so it interrupts that little break they get, that little reset. So this year, the coach was like, ‘Can we do it before?’ I said, ‘Yeah, man,'” Daniel Cormier added.

In the late ’90s and early 2000s, wrestling in high school was on a decline, but in recent times, high-school wrestling has gained a lot of momentum, and the competition is bigger than ever. According to the annual NFHS Survey for the 2024 – 25 school year, 374,278 students had participated in wrestling, making history, as it is the first time over 370,000 students signed up for the sport. It is also to be noted that over 74,000 of the participants are girls. This enormous surge in numbers has resulted in high school wrestling gaining a lot of mainstream attention. Thus, giving Cormier a much bigger reason to train his students harder.

Cormier personally drives his students from Gilroy to Bakersfield, enduring a four-hour trip through traffic to ensure their hard work and sacrifice over the Christmas holiday pays off. Along the way, he also coaches his own son and the son of UFC veteran Chael Sonnen.

Chael Sonnen praises Daniel Cormier’s dedication to giving back to the community

Although Chael Sonnen and Daniel Cormier never faced each other in the Octagon, the two became close friends years after retiring. They now co-host ESPN’s podcast Good Guy/Bad Guy. While they once coached against each other during TUF 33 because of their pairing, they have since built a strong mutual respect.

Sonnen consistently praises Daniel Cormier for giving back to the community through coaching. At the same time, working with kids motivates Cormier, and he approaches every session ready to train youth in wrestling and other disciplines. Through this work, Cormier also shares the lessons he learned firsthand, showing the importance of pushing through difficult times.

Sonnen wants his son to take inspiration from Cormier’s example. “My son will know the story of Daniel Cormier. My son will know the lessons that Daniel left behind about hard work, about being a good person, about trying… about giving back to your community, about being a man of your word,” Sonnen told ESPN MMA in 2020.

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