Daniel Cormier is no Bobby Lashley and he's fine with that. The former Olympic wrestler doesn't carry a lot of his weight in the form of sculpted biceps and huge trapezius muscles. There's an ample amount a bit to the south.
"In terms of physique guys are going to come in all shapes and sizes," Cormier told Sportstown Chicago Fight Club. "To be muscled up and rocked up like that, that's fine but it's not bad to have a different shape to you. This isn't a bodybuilding competition, it's a fight."
When Cormier (6-0) steps into the cage Friday night at Strikeforce Challengers 13 (Showtime 11 p.m. ET/PT), there won't be a posedown with Devin Cole.
"It didn't seem to hinder Fedor [Emelianenko] all that time. Fabricio [Werdum]'s not the most rocked up guy in the world," Cormier said defiantly. "It's the new thing -- the Brock Lesnars and the Alistair Overeems running around looking like bodybuilders -- that people expect everyone to look that way. But in reality, people come in different shapes and sizes."
Just look at Cain Velasquez vs. Brock Lesnar as a prime example. Velasquez, an American Kickboxing Academy teammate of Cormier, isn't the most chiseled guy. He also wasn't the fighter running for his life two minutes into the fight.
At 6-foot, 250 pounds, Cormier has a squatty build. He's still explosive with a good gas tank.
Don't let his appearance fool you, he's always been a high-level athlete, ranking in the top 10 in the world in his amateur wrestling weight class from 2003-2008. He made the U.S. Olympic team in 2004 and 2008 at 211 pounds. In those days, he was slimmer. Cormier looks back and says that was counterproductive.
"When I was wrestling, 50 or 60 percent of my focus was on weight cutting and that's probably why I didn't accomplish my goals to be an Olympic champion," said Cormier.
Now he's at a more comfortable weight and focusing on one thing, improving his skills as a mixed martial artist.
"Right now they don't feel it's in my best interest [to drop down to 205 pounds]. Right now its in my best interest to get better. I need to get better at fighting and not the weight cutting," said Cormier.
He fought MMA five times in 2010 and wants to have a similar schedule in 2011.
Cormier is a good prospect, but he's also 31 years old. He knows his timetable is shorter than that of guys like Jon Jones and Phil Davis, both former collegiate wrestlers he referenced.
Check out the entire two-part conversation with Cormier here on Sportstown Chicago Fight Club.
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