Daniel Cormier is one of the most decorated fighters to ever step foot inside the Octagon. With six U.S. national wrestling titles in a row, a fourth place at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and a bronze medal at the World Championships in 2007, ‘DC’ has become a legend in the realm of wrestling and mixed martial arts. But what if we told you that there was one wrestler that he was scared of? Well, that’s what he once told Joe Rogan.
In fact, Cormier even revealed to the UFC commentator that if that wrestler ever made his way into the UFC, there was no way that anyone else could’ve found success in the sport. But who is this mystery man? Speaking to Shane Gillis, Mark Normand, and Ari Shaffir on JRE #2256, the JRE host talked about the legendary Khadzhimurat Gatsalov.
The UFC commentator was talking about the insane body conditioning it requires for one to be a wrestler. While claiming that it is one of the hardest things to do in life, he revealed that Daniel Cormier once confessed to him about one wrestler that he was glad never transitioned to MMA, Khadzhimurat Gatsalov. For the unaware, Gatsalov was a Russian wrestler who knocked Cormier out of the 2004 Olympics in the semi-final round.
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The JRE host said, “It (wrestling) is so hard to do. And Olympic wrestlers, like those guys, are the fittest athletes on earth. They are animals. Those guys, their strength and conditioning routine is f****n crazy. When Daniel Cormier was telling me about this Russian dude that he could not beat, he was like, ‘We’re so lucky that this guy never fought.’”
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Joe Rogan further narrated an incident on the podcast that was told to him by Daniel Cormier back from his Olympic days: “He said his strength and conditioning coach, he couldn’t break him. He just kept giving him more s**t to do, and he wanted more. He was like, ‘What the f**k, man.’ He goes, I was trying to break him. He used Daniel Cormier’s routine; he just kept adding things, and this dude just wanted to keep doing more. He said he would’ve beaten all of us. He said we never would’ve been successful if this guy fought in the UFC.”
Well, it looks like the UFC fighters should be glad they never got to fight Khadzhimurat Gatsalov. Jon Jones, especially, should be thanking his lucky stars. Why? Well, that’s because Gatsalov knows the technique to defeat the heavyweight fighter.
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Khadzhimurat Gatsalov reveals the how-tos of defeating Jon Jones
Jon Jones is a UFC Hall of Famer and one of the first names to come to mind when it comes to the GOAT debate. The UFC heavyweight champion has built a record of 28 wins, one loss, and one no-contest by knocking out men like Alexander Gustafsson (twice), Anthony Smith, and Daniel Cormier. So, why couldn’t they defeat ‘Bones’? Well, that’s because none of them was an ‘animal’ like Khadzhimurat Gatsalov.
In a conversation shared online on Instagram via the ‘redcorner.mma,’ the 2004 Athens gold medalist revealed his thoughts on Jon Jones and how to dethrone him off the heavyweight title. Using his experience as a wrestler, Gatsalov suggested that getting into wrestling exchanges with the former light heavyweight champion would be a bad idea. Instead, one should directly go for the tackle instead.
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He said, “He has a great wrestling background; he’s good at positional wrestling; he’s very stable. So I believe it would be a bad idea to play clinch games with him; in wrestling exchanges, you need to take him down right away. Because he is a very tenacious athlete.” But how would one tackle him? Well, when the Russian fighter was asked how he would do it, Gatsalov replied, “…a double leg is best against him.” Well, that’s all you need to win against ‘Bones.’ Easier said than done, as DC could vouch for it.
But unfortunately, we fans would never get to see the legend do it since he has now retired from the sport. But what do you think? Who would’ve won the match between Khadzhimurat Gatsalov and Jon Jones? Let us know in the comments.
