An undated photo of former UFC champion Daniel Cormier. — Instagram/dc_mma
Former UFC champion Daniel Cormier has urged retired champions to protect their legacy, saying there are other ways to earn money other than fighting.
Luke Rockhold debuted in boxing against Darren Till at Misfits Boxing 22 on August 30, which the former lost in the third round by knockout.
Cormier, a former UFC champion, while talking on his YouTube channel, criticised fighters like Rockhold, urging them to stop fighting risky bouts.
“For me, what makes me sad is watching guys that have had those careers, go and fight these fights that really mean nothing,” he said.
“I guess it’s for money, but it sucks when you see a guy that was a champion all of a sudden almost say, ‘To hell with the legacy, I’m just going to go get paid.’”
Cormier reflected on the knockout of the former American MMA fighter adding he got beaten so badly but yet he was not embarrassed.
“Something has got to change in that regard because, bro, I hated it. He got knocked out so bad,” Cormier said.
“And then, you can tell when it don’t matter so much, because right afterward, they’re together in a picture at a bar. You could just tell that it don’t matter. It just doesn’t matter to him that he got knocked out, and it sucks.”
Daniel Cormier said there are other ways to earn money without stepping into the ring and also advised the former UFC champion Frankie Edgar to drop the idea of fighting in bare-knuckle boxing.
“When you are a champion, or a person that wore the UFC title, there are so many ways for you to make money,” he said.
“There are ways to do it without stepping inside of a boxing ring, without stepping inside of a bare-knuckle boxing fight. So crazy. Frankie Edgar is about to do it. Frankie Edgar is about to fight in bare-knuckle boxing. I like Frankie.
“I don’t know that that’s the greatest idea. So hopefully someone close to him goes, ‘Frankie, I don’t know if this is the fight or this is the move.’”