Cael Sanderson v. Daniel Cormier: NCAA title match at 184 pounds

Cael Sanderson of Iowa State defeats Daniel Cormier of Oklahoma State 8-4 for the championship in the 184-pound weight class at the 2001 NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championship hosted by the University of Iowa at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, IA. Watch the full wrestling match here.
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[@amfam100]

Hearing 118-0 in such a tough sport is so nutty 😂

[@Th3Chuzzl3r]

He was 159-0 when he finished

[@dzimikes]

How about 887-2

[@proffesornugget1613]

@@dzimikes AND TWO

[@proffesornugget1613]

@@dzimikes im just joking btw it is very impressive

[@jotunblod]

@@proffesornugget1613 172-3 after international competition. Puts the 887-2 into perspective, by a lot.

[@danadane2501]

One wrestler went on to win titles in every MMA organization he fought in. Light Heavy and Heavyweight in the UFC. The other went undefeated with 4 national titles and is now the head coach for the most dominant division one college in The country. You can say they both did incredibly well. Oh yes, Cael did get that Gold Medal as well.

[@JAMILABISMILAH]

Oh yeh

[@jaydorman1350]

I graduated in 03. Saw Lesnar and Sanderson. So cool. Stay blessed

[@heyheyyourmum950]

@@jaydorman1350 i wrestled cael once in russian. managed to pin him once out of 10 times

[@dannyc7227]

Did DC win a title at Strikeforce? He wasn’t ever champion for that organization but he did win a tournament there so I guess that was his title.

[@johngotti3487]

@@dannyc7227won the HW Grand Prix. That comes with a championship belt

[@radvlad1431]

It's amazing DC can compete in such a grueling wrestling match so soon after his fight with Stipe

[@elliottblair31]

🤣🤣🤣

[@KarimDavisFilms]

And grow back his hair so fast

[@mattbenson2034]

And cut 80 pounds😂

[@sukuyu2998]

@Rafael its called crack where i live

[@christopherbarbosa321]

And come on.... His shape is awesome! He looks 20yo again!

[@cmac1781]

DC could never catch a break with running into GOATs

[@coreyreeves3841]

Jones aint a goat hes a ped user tarnished his legacy i cant claim a ped user is even top 5

[@rankalucard3960]

DC will retire as HW GOAT.

[@cjichida8174]

Ikr

[@Hamz1257]

Frankie Gee He just lost to the UFC HW GOAT Stipe Miocic (I wouldn’t say MMA because it’s between Stipe or Fedor). DC still running into GOATs.

[@NOU-iw3gb]

@Trevon Adams Reyesssss

[@Uziavenger]

Sanderson was the greatest collegiate wrestler ever and even went on to win gold in the Olympics. In international competition, Yoel Romero beat him twice. That's how good Yoel is

[@montanathreehunna]

They were 2-1 in matches Yoel winning 2 but Cael winning the most important one, the match that would lead to his gold medal win.

[@anthonyhalcon6005]

Not really I feel like Cael was more of a folk style wrestler than a freestyle wrestler

[@sportingminds3311]

Anthony Halcon I think he did speak about his initial difficulty adjusting to freestyle at the Olympic level in an interview

[@willi6880]

Talk to me when Yoel shows up for a championship fight

[@DreaminBig]

Then why doesn't he use that Olympic wrestling in UFC ? I believe he could've easily beaten Adesanya if he did.

[@Happycamper808]

DC was lookin slim before the popeyes kicked in

[@blankname6629]

JS808 it’s always amazing to see how some athletes body’s change.

[@dr.corneliusq.cadbury6984]

He’s a Louisiana boy. He was raised on Popeyes.

[@blankname6629]

Dr. Cornelius Q. Cadbury Popeyes is fantastic who could blame the guy? Haha

[@garretttringale436]

@@blankname6629 but how many change while their still competing? Can a imagine prince naseem boxing right now? Lol

[@trevormoore9589]

Fr he cut hella weight also when he was in Olympic wrestling he had kidney failure trying to make 195 like wtf cuz he's huge.

[@truthseekerKJV]

It's hard to believe anyone is capable of a perfect college wrestling record.

[@armyofachievers8766]

Isaiah Martinez Came a year and half close but Nolf ( Penn state) gave him his first lost, while Cael Sanderson was on the sidelines Coaching.

[@josephhanicak7922]

It's insane. To go from your first match as a freshman, wrestling Seniors who have 4 more years of intensive training with the best coaches, to being a Senior, and not losing a single match is insane. Wrestling 40 matches a season for 4 straight seasons and winning all of them is unfathomable

[@patstaysuckafreeboss8006]

@@josephhanicak7922 How is it unfathomable lol he literally did it.... Edit: since I’ve made this comment I realize the error of my ways lol I’m an idiot. This guy is clearly the greatest wrestler who ever lived

[@drinfernodds]

@@patstaysuckafreeboss8006 because most people don't know how many matches someone can have in their ncaa wrestling career. Thousands have wrestled but none have ever been able to replicate this. Everyone thought the one loss in Dan Gable's career was the best it could ever get, but Cael did it. So it was possible but who knows if or when it'll happen again.

[@Touchit344]

@@josephhanicak7922 relax, it’s only wrestling. Borderline gay sex

[@americankulak2294]

DC has had an incredible career. Wrestling the only undefeated man in NCAA history, Jon Jones, plus two time world champion in UFC. Such an awesome dude.

[@LECityLECLEC]

truth! And he was scoring on them!

[@joemomma8830]

Yoel beat Sanderson and he doesn’t get credit for it

[@CPUGaming]

@@joemomma8830 Which is weird because he's kinda mid at wrestling in MMA

[@tombstone4986]

Too bad he turned into a cheater

[@Alexandurr]

@@joemomma8830TWICE

[@Ronn897]

Are you sure this is Cormier and not the man that Cormier ate?

[@elguapo9702]

Alan 😂

[@curtispoplin948]

This was Cormier on his juicing cycle

[@suspiciousneighbor4799]

@@curtispoplin948 a crying Jon Jones fan I see Daniel Cormier passed 50 USADA drug tests with no fails and is still a top athlete and here we see post steroids Jon Jones who lost his title to dominick but only kept his title because judges are dog shit garbage

[@justinladue123]

Same shit I was thinking 😂

[@abrardaiyan4268]

@Great Lakes he got his ass handled by santos and dominick

[@abg125]

the fact DC was only down by ONE point with 40 something seconds to go...is a testament to how good of a wrestler he truly is...

[@paulnokio1199]

True

[@noah8770]

He was down by 1 for 3 seconds lmfao

[@Nik_Airball]

The fact that he was down on two knees giving me head is a testament of how good he truly is

[@Jake-oq2bq]

yeah DC is a really good wrestler, but that seems like a random criteria for judging how good someone is

[@evanrussell4211]

Wrestling’s usually low scoring. Being down by 1 doesn’t make a wrestler that good. I’ve seen top wrestlers only win by 1 against nobodies.

[@TheInspirationalMind]

DC at 185? What was he 12 in that video? 🤣

[@dylanb2086]

Just DC not being obese.

[@WizardGrizzlyBear]

Bro imagine if he fought at middle weight!

[@carlosesquivel5103]

It’s weird to think that DC, Yoel Romero, and Kamaru Usman all wrestled at 84 kg yet when they transitioned to MMA. DC was a LHW & HW, Romero was a MW, and Usman became a WW

[@AK-dj5su]

Dc really liked the Popeyes i guess

[@bhvillaman4401]

That's called growing up pal 😂

[@javiersilva1577]

@@AK-dj5suDC could have easily made 185. At his light heavyweight weigh ins, he still had a lot of body fat on his belly. He just didn’t want to be disciplined in his diet. The fact that he was a light heavyweight and heavyweight championship despite having such a big disadvantage in reach and height, shows how great of an athlete DC was. Also the fact that he didn’t start boxing until his 30s, yet his stand up was elite.

[@Ill.righteous31]

​@@javiersilva1577DC is one of those ppl that perform better with a high body fat percentage

[@javiersilva1577]

@@Ill.righteous31 no one performs at their best after a huge weight cut. Look at all the fighters that have moved up in weight. Almost all of them have done better. DC just didn’t want to diet and weight cut so much after doing it in wrestling for his entire life

[@aidenjaxhernandez]

Once again, Daniel Cormier's kryptonite.... are GOATS

[@djbobby224]

Stipe is a goat?

[@billhughes7927]

djbobbydjable - he’s considered one of them, he’s had a lot of best defenses.

[@theylieabouteverything1859]

And steroid cheats

[@frankiecal3186]

Sanderson,Jones and Stipe so true.👍....Too many 🐐

[@coreyreeves3841]

@@frankiecal3186 jones is disqualified from goats hes a ped user

[@1fastmex]

Cormier hell of an athlete. Bad luck of the draw. Both Wrestling and MMA. Just happened to be at the same time and the same weight as the greatest collegiate wrestler of all time and arguably the greatest mma fighter of all time. Cormier a class act and never made excuses though. 👊👊

[@daytonasayswhat9333]

1fastmex Which MMA guy?

[@HollowKing1798]

If youre referring to Jones, he managed to step out of his shadow and become heavyweight champion and will likely end his career with a trilogy with Stipe. I wouldn't say he had bad luck in MMA

[@jameslane9267]

HollowKing1798 I wouldn’t say he had bad luck necessarily in MMA, but he definitely will not have the same legacy as Jones. To me, Cormier is one of the top 5 greatest MMA fighters of all time, along with Jones GSP Silva and Fedor, it’s just that a lot of people don’t see it the same. A lot of people I’ve spoken to would say guys like Liddell, Cain, Dos Santos, Henderson, Shogun, and Couture, all are better fighters than Cormier on the all time list. Just is up to preference I guess

[@iamalpharius9483]

Only someone who heard something like this on Sports Center would write it here. DC is TOTALLT seperated from Jones because he actually has a legacy instead of a history.

[@fonetree]

@@daytonasayswhat9333 he's referring to Jon Jones the Lt Heavyweight Champion.

[@dlansman]

KZbin algorithm coming through. As an ISU fan, I knew the legend of Cael, but didn't know Cormier was in college at the same time.

[@Lootroq]

Brock too, isn't that crazy?

[@audiocombatives1936]

DC faced elite talent at every phase of his career.

[@Lootroq]

Elite of the elite of the elite. If he fought earlier in his career after the 04 Olympics he would be considered the GOAT

[@alessandroscuderi7300]

Not just elite, literally the GOATs. Stipe is the greatest HW in UFC history and he even beat him, Jones is arguably the greatest MMA fighter period, and Sanderson the greatest collegiate wrestler ever and one greatest wrestlers ever.

[@euclideszoto997]

Cael was born with a gifted sense of timing and balance no one else had. Guy had a gyroscope inside his brain. Never out of balance.

[@djbobby224]

Or maybe he worked hard and not a special gift

[@euclideszoto997]

@@djbobby224 he had both.

[@patstaysuckafreeboss8006]

@@djbobby224 Some people could work hard their entire life and not be a tenth as great. The word talent exists for a reason

[@ik9363]

@@patstaysuckafreeboss8006 Hard disagree. Talent doesn't exist in that sense at all. Are some people naturally better at certain things than others? Yes. But just chalking up an elite level athlete/painter/whatever to "talent" is doing a massive disservice to the tens of thousands of hours they've put in to perfecting their craft. This kids probably been wrestling since he was 3, that's a lifetime of dedication to his craft. Fuck out of here with that "oh he's just talented" BS.

[@godgunsandgoldens]

@@ik9363 Most work hard. Less have that elite athleticism required to be truly great. Muhammad Ali had incredible gifts but was not the hardest worker.

[@JaayProdiJaay]

Y’all gon make Daniels quarantine hella depressing😂😂😂

[@jafamily2210]

Ok... you win the comment of the year 😆

[@KarthikSoun]

One of the greatest beasts of all time..DC being forged in the pits of defeat, humiliation, underpowered, outsized, out matched but becomes the gaint killer. David of UFC, gladiator of gladiators, king of the ring. Man who proved size doesn't matter.

[@zaynes5094]

Except against one or two guys, I'd agree.

[@thewarlord502]

@@zaynes5094 one of those two is the greatest in 8 billion population on Earth. So it isn't that bad I guess

[@Brianism_]

@@thewarlord502who

[@thewarlord502]

@@Brianism_ has only two losses against Bones and Stipe

[@mannyrosado9887]

Great match! That actually looks like DC's natural weight. Imagine what he would have done if he fought at 185?🤔😳🤯

[@ericwalker6546]

He probably should have. Then he would not have to listen to all the fat jokes.

[@Lootroq]

He went 61-0 when he wrestled at heavyweight in Junior College and won two championships and at 211lbs(96kg) he won 6 gold US National Titles and 3 Gold Pan Am championships so he was competing at the correct weight in the UFC

[@ericwalker6546]

@@Lootroq subjective. I think he would have done better at a weight he wrestled at. You think he was at the right weight.

[@mannyrosado9887]

@@Lootroq 😳😳🤯💪💪😎

[@Lootroq]

@@ericwalker6546 he did which was Light heavyweight equivalent. What's insane though is that he was fighting at such an extreme disadvantage with a full foot reach differential against Jones and a 7 inch differential against Gus who were his toughest opponents.

[@Michael-pf8we]

That was the most beautiful ankle pick I’ve ever seen.

[@Jekyll_Island_Creatures]

See Sakuraba vs Igor Vovchanchin Pride Grand Prix tournament after Saku just fought Royce Gracie for 2 hours.

[@agontprevarator5214]

Tony Ferguson would be proud

[@Michael-pf8we]

Send A Raven I’m more interested in straight wrestling

[@fatee5069]

In middle school (yes, where we all sucked lol) I did that but ended up folding the guy instead. Wrapped him up for a pin. One of the best pins I ever had. 😂 Dude was like 6'2 I was 5'7 he was breathing and squirming like a little piggy so bad. His long as legs made it easy to leverage tho.

[@michaelterrell5061]

@@fatee5069 I’m sorry, you wrestled someone who was 6’2 while you were in middle school...AND WON?! I’m in the 8th grade and I’m like 5’5 and I’d have no chance.

[@mrczz6690]

"He moves so freely, great flow....Like water moving to the path of least resistance" RIP Jeff Blatnick

[@ighsight]

I am no wrestling expert but I always thought Cormier gave Cael the best competition he faced at the college level. And it was just now that I made the connection between this young athlete and today's MMA fighter.

[@fishsticks850]

Cael's coach has some serious intensity and focus. Love it!

[@class1sportzers337]

The way he was focused on the fight you'd think Cael was actually losing.

[@ThePreachingOfHisWord]

No one takes a loss harder than DC. Dude is really passionate in what he does and he shows it. Great champion.

[@tdb4763]

Jones takes it harder. He just has never lost yet.

[@grappling.enthusiast]

@@tdb4763 then how tf are u suppose to know who takes it harder

[@OhYummmmp]

@@tdb4763bro what

[@tdb4763]

@@TribhuvanSinghShekhawat everybody is talking about the heavyweight champion now. 🏆

[@davidbanuelos8818]

Dat anklepick tho.... 4:04

[@agontprevarator5214]

Tony Ferguson would be proud

[@joseph4500]

Dc did something similar against Derrick lewis

[@mikedarcy7584]

That was disgusting

[@zeaferjones1404]

@@joseph4500 I'm glad I wasn't the only one that noticed that. I was happy to see DC do an ankle pick on Lewis in MMA.

[@frankiecal3186]

Dc only loses to 🐐 Sanderson,Jones,Stipe

[@sujetonormal3399]

Yeah you are right, he needs to fight in boxing and lost to the goat

[@dooks8277]

True story

[@markrobertson3015]

Cormier competed against the best of all time at so many different times in his life. He is beyond a legend! Stipe is underated right now, someday we will see he might be the best heavyweight of all time and Cormier has that amazing win over him. Not to mention he has trained hours and hours with Cain. Just imagine that for a second.....

[@billhughes7927]

I love wrestling so much. It was the hardest, yet most rewarding experience of my life so far.

[@bubbawatson4441]

Haaa gayyyy

[@bubbawatson4441]

Why would a man wanna wrestle another man? A woman i would gladly wrestle

[@RENEIND]

@@bubbawatson4441 Don't be an idiot, you compete against someone stronger than you or more likely skilled, you against a female is just you thinking perverted

[@Doors067]

I gotta agree with bubba

[@percyfaith11]

@@RENEIND Lighten up Francis.

[@Cl2olvleY21]

At 8:49 when Cormier took Cael down and started sprawling around to get position you see cael put his arm up to avoid that transition then follow up with his knee and foot so he can't get all the way around, thats years of experience right there to be that quick on defense, that was very impressive.

[@executivelifehacks6747]

Cormier musta forgot

[@Mexican_Food_Truck_1]

Good catch!

[@MinhaFamiliaAQBJJ]

If u ever have the opportunity to participate in a wrestling seminar led by DC...jump on it. I don't know anything about wrestling but the way he explains every single detail makes you feel like you've wrestled your entire life. Also he is deceivingly strong although he probably went 5% on me lol.

[@colebrown9674]

Sanderson was always calm during his matches, which is why I think he was the best because he never panicked IMO. I also think that was why he was such a good coach also because he told his wrestlers to not panic and to overall just have fun making them more likely to go for points even during big time matches. Again this is just my thought.

[@abg125]

holy hell I've been looking for the this match in HD for 10 or more years! This is AWESOME! The only thing you could do to top it is...find/release HD Dan Gable matches!

[@Happycamper808]

adam glover thats what happens when FLO monopolizes all the content.

[@savan30]

Holy hell! This is the gay porn you finally found!

[@audreyjuleka2104]

You must be really old

[@dbchillin7747]

@@savan30 I take it this is right up your alley LOL

[@ianshue2890]

There is one up of Gable winning the NCAA championship his junior year. If you haven’t seen it yet, he’s wrestling Marty Willigan

[@MuggyRay]

He had 3 titles and when he was asked if he'll get a 4th one he said idk. We'll see next year, crazy

[@michaelp5600]

Cael Sanderson was arguably ( not much argument other than maybe Dan Gable) the greatest college wrestler to ever step onto the mat so DC had nothing to be ashamed of! Sometimes you are simply outgunned and for DC to keep giving his all for the entire match is truly a testament to his character

[@wiseguysoutdoors2954]

People forget how good Kurt Angle was, because of the "pro wrestling" but he wasn't quite the level of Cael, hell nobody was, but he was a real competitor!!

[@class1sportzers337]

tbh I don't think Sanderson wouldn't have been the greatest if he didn't beat DC. Cormier was definitely in the same league as Sanderson.

[@stevehalverson790]

I believe the coach for Iowa State is Bobby Douglas. Here’s a little known tidbit. He is from the very small town of Bridgeport, OH. Growing up at the same time in the same town were John Havlicek NBA Hall of Famer, Joe Niekro MLB Hall of Famer along with his brother Phil.

[@nwa187]

Who else read Chael Sonnen?

[@anonymanonym6236]

Me too haha 😂

[@79TEOG]

1 person

[@criselba2283]

Sonnen is an bum wrestler

[@krissanders987]

N J damn.. me🤚🏼 Weird, my mind just automatically put sonnon, and clicked on the vid wondering why this white dude looks nothing like Chael sonnon

[@krissanders987]

Cris Elba how dare you. Chael is the only undisputed middle weight ufc champion and undefeated NCAA champion.

[@treyward9503]

Crazy seeing cormier young and at what would be middleweight in the UFC, especially against one of the greats like cael

[@markoticz]

Ya but what is cael is doing with his life now what does he do for a living

[@logancoe69]

markovvv he’s the head wrestling coach at penn state

[@coreyreeves3841]

@@markoticz not relevant to the topic obviously cormier found more long term success nobody is stating otherwise

[@thammar1990]

@@markoticz Cael has won like 8/9 of the most recent ncaa national championships as a head coach. He's doing just fine

[@thammar1990]

@@coreyreeves3841 how do you consider that more long term success? Cael is going to go down not only as the greatest folkstyle wrestler ever but the best folkstyle wrestling coach ever too.

[@NinjaRevolutionSquad]

As a longtime UFC fan, it's so great to hear Jeff Blatnick's voice again. RIP

[@ianshue2890]

As a guy who loves wrestling, I can’t stop watching 4:04. It’s such a clean, smooth takedown, one of the best takedowns I’ve ever seen. Technique was so good that Daniel couldn’t even defend it

[@DSVN23]

DC did the same thing to Derrick Lewis

[@abg125]

dang to have Gable say such good things about you (Cormier) especially the fact he said "IF there's a man that can hang with Cael, it's Cormier" I'd rank that high praise as better than any UFC accolade...

[@gcastt]

adam glover so true.

[@nathanielkang2397]

Higher than being the light heavy and heavyweight champ? Lol

[@AlexSanchez-ft7wi]

Nathaniel Kang yeah Cael is considered as one of the best folkstyle wrestlers of all time.

[@jacksonallen3222]

@@AlexSanchez-ft7wi if not THE best

[@Jake-oq2bq]

i wouldnt. to be high level in mma, you must master multiple martial arts and blend them together. rather than simply mastering one

[@SweetScientist91]

I met cael in high school at a lock Haven wrestling camp...and out of everybody there(all legends for example kary kolat) cael gave me the best techniques out of all and they worked all the way to college. Cael ankle pick is legendary and low singles are smooth asf. After meeting cael something clicked in me in wrestling...and I found out that the very little things in wrestling make the biggest difference...instead of tying up like most high schoolers...we drilled not tying up like that and tie up our owns ways. Or the way your hold a wrist or roll your own...very very small things in technique in wrestling will get you far.

[@ronnietheronnie4737]

4:05 that’s good asf

[@roddyricch1913]

Reminds me of my old days

[@B-RaDD]

Sick

[@bigmoney4635]

Before DC discovered McDonalds. Dad bod or not he’s still one of the greatest fighters ever

[@kennymichaelalanya7134]

I used to think wrestling was boring to watch especially in MMA. But as the years go by I can love the appeal of it. It is very hard and it takes tremendous cardio to do. I never knew there was such a thing as wrestling cardio.

[@hillbillymods2866]

Cael was, hands down, the best collegiate wrestler ever. As a folk style wrestler from kindergarten through my high school senior year, I can tell you, I tried a couple freestyle tournaments, and I hated it. I never tried to adapt to it and didn't want to. Those comparing Yoel to Sanderson don't know what they're talking about. The mere fact that Sanderson beat Romero on the way to gold tells me all I need to know about Cael's status as GOAT.

[@jimmybeans5879]

Yeah they’re totally different sports. I love both, but they’re not the same

[@DarkRahl69]

Yeap, folk style is what we are taught as youths in America and free style has similarities but is really a completely different sport. I remember my first freestyle tourney, getting gut wretched on bottom and rolled over and over to tech fall, super fun, but to be fair most peoples understanding of grappling is that it is all just wrestling, generic style-less wrestling, something that doesn't even exist except the backyard. Let the ignorant flap on haha. Cael's feats are literally unbelievable.

[@OhYummmmp]

Ofc but if you’re amazing at wrestling most a ton of the skills are transferable

[@HispanicatthediscoMTG]

Yeah and once he learned freestyle he beat Yoel lol

[@Thefitnessdoctorscottsdale]

Shocking how uncertain of victory Cael sounded. Usually the best see it, believe it, and own it before it ever happens. Truly humble incredibly hard worker.

[@nathannorman1770]

That Cormier kid looked impressive though, I reckon he could be a world champion one day

[@ganjalfthegreen5312]

Yea I don't think anyone could out wrestle him in the light heavy weight division

[@theonemav]

@@ganjalfthegreen5312 Jon Jones did

[@ganjalfthegreen5312]

@@theonemav oh yea, that happened

[@masrr3678]

@@theonemav on the juice 💉

[@mitchellbowman22]

The best way I’ve found to describe Cael is that he was effortlessly unstoppable.

[@napalminthemorning8309]

High school wrestling was one of the first times I really felt like a man. Watching these guys wrestle matches on this kind of level reminds me they just get tougher.

[@JohnWilliams-jr3xp]

Cormier losing to all the Greats of the sport : Cael, Jones, and Stipe...still a great athlete.

[@RENEIND]

Jones beat him due to stand up, plus he's got that long af reach and uses his weapons more, in terms of wrestling I'd say they're both equal

[@billcipher3946]

@@RENEIND Cael Sanderson has the wrestling advantage.

[@matthewhorizon6050]

@9:05 (3rd period, 39secs) what an enormous mental lapse on DC's behalf, especially after such a great TD late in the 3rd. It seemed as though Daniel was admiring his own work which lead to getting caught flat-footed, with an entirely exposed waist. For those who are not avid fans of college wrestling, this is an uncommon folly for a wrestler of his caliber. In addition, DC failed to follow a fundamental rule: never stop wrestling. Well, anyways, you had the best collegiate wrestler of all-time in a vulnerable spot late in a match. That ain't too shabby. But ultimately, it was fatigue that put Daniel in that position. Without Cale in your way, you probably would have been a D1 champ.

[@Falcons8455]

That confused me so much. I have never really watched wrestling, only MMA. So I thought maybe there was some reason for just stopping like that, but guess not. So strange, almost seems rigged haha

[@matthewhorizon6050]

@@Falcons8455 Yeah, it seems that way. College wrestling doesn't really have a history of crooked activities. That said, who knows. I really just think it was a huge mental lapse. Either way, weird.

[@davidanderson9074]

@@matthewhorizon6050 I don't think it would have mattered. Cael had plus two points riding time, not yet showing in the score. It was competitive, yet not as close as it appeared. The two points plus the escape (even without the lapse) would have had him well up.

[@axe2grind244]

I’ve always been amazed by the fact Dan Cormier fought at 205 while weighing 235.

[@HkFinn83]

I’m more amazed at the small lean guys losing 10-15lbs tbh. A lot of that extra blubber is just water anyway so it makes sense

[@paulgrabowski9093]

This is the best quality of video that ive found for this match

[@pass1144]

Daniel's still jogs the same way as he's 184 lbs days 😂😂😂

[@Patchez91]

I just came here to see the legend of skinny Cormier.

[@ethanreynolds7892]

THAT'S TRULY MY FAVORITE SPORT

[@zoeyandcley9006]

Both men are so successful in every way you can think of that's motivation on hard work and how a man should carry themselves

[@-sdot83]

Sanderson cool but DC is a biz nitch, sore loser

[@JohnnyButtons]

Wow I remember watching this in the early ‘00s. RIP Jeff😢

[@MrOnlyUp]

How incredible is Cormier, usman and Cormier both wrestling at 185 pounds one of them goes up in weight and becomes hw champion and the other one goes down and becomes ww champion and is the p4p best, tells you how good dc is

[@HkFinn83]

Tbf Usman was a DII athlete. Cormier competed at a much higher level. I’m more impressed that somebody like Usman could be such a higher level athlete in a different sport

[@Val2073]

I didn’t know DC retired from MMA and went back to competing in wrestling. 😮What an amazing athlete he is.

[@jj-qx1oo]

this was before his mma career

[@salj.5459]

@@jj-qx1ooIt was a joke

[@jj-qx1oo]

@@salj.5459 I think I was retarded when I saw this comment

[@class1sportzers337]

Cael was a phenomenal athlete. I can feel his strength just staring through the screen. This guy makes me wanna start wrestling myself.

[@kmacksmcdonald6475]

Me too, too bad I am too old and injured now. A bit out of shape too.

[@fabiansalas2037]

@@kmacksmcdonald6475don’t be lame and go wrestle

[@shawnkays3380]

Definitely favorite mma personality from a champ. Good dude

[@cl3786]

Lmfao, the only time DC weighed 184 was when he was born 🤣🤣🤣

[@JoseRodriguez-el7jq]

9:03 and that's why u cut em aggressively push down on the head and controll the elbow or push em away from u while on a stance, always be ready to score or like our coaches have said since middle school, "Always wrestle till the whistle!"

[@ironmanjaimz]

What was he trying to do....I played it a few while watching and just couldn't come up with why he tried to stand like that

[@JoseRodriguez-el7jq]

@@ironmanjaimz best excuse I can come up for him was that he was exhausted or fatigued and thought he heard the whistle, but I'm in the same boat I dont know what happened there

[@kmacksmcdonald6475]

4:07 another fantastic ankle pick by Sanderson. His ankle pick was just the best. I wonder if other young wrestlers today will ever try to most emulate and work on Sandersons ankle pick. A thing of beauty

[@jpd66]

Great to hear Jeff Blatnick's voice again, an outstanding commentator and all around class act.

[@paolo2012]

Damn...one mistake, one moment of relaxation, and DC gets taken down, by the NCAA goat 🐐 with under a minute left, after having gotten so close.... Respect

[@davidanderson9074]

Don't forget Cael had plus two points riding time, not yet showing in the score. It was competitive, yet not as close as it appeared. The two points plus the escape would have had him well up.

[@RodgersXLVmvp]

Only the OG Wrestlers know how gangster it was if you had those John Smith Shoes 🔥 Crazy all the legends in this short video. John Smith , Dan Gable, both legends . Cael goes on to be the greatest college wrestler of all time , never losing , 159-0 , x4 National Champ winning every year, and DC goes on to the Olympics and UFC Champion , man y’all please don’t ever stop posting these videos!

[@almightysosa4952]

It looks like DC smiling in the thumbnail while getting suplexed. I swear that dude never stops laughing haha

[@randallgoeswhere]

DC didnt have his fatness to use as a weapon yet.

[@souljahaden6184]

@@advancedchiropractic667 i dont think it was due to age im pretty sure he had very hard times cutting down to weights under 200 i think his natrual body composition consist of alot of fat and in the ufc we see a more nattual look from him

[@orthodoxkosovoalbanian8792]

Aden ngo Yea most likely a very calorie restricted diet with alot of cardio

[@shadow_realm47]

@@advancedchiropractic667 I think he was trying to be humourous my man.

[@beentray8403]

@@advancedchiropractic667 lighten up man jeez

[@vicarious8989]

@@advancedchiropractic667 bro chill out

[@youknow1994]

Match up of gods

[@En3myDad]

That was great to watch!! Love DC in UFC!!! These guys are so humble too.....wrestlers!!!

[@Dwellerz]

Jeff Blatnick’s commentary makes me nostalgic for old school UFC.

[@raidenmk4473]

If this was MMA, Cael would of been experiencing some vicious eyepokes from DC

[@Avocado11]

It's wrestling, they are sticking open hands in each other faces whenever they were at distance. DC faceplams him repeatedly at 1:30.

[@hectormartinez9330]

Yeah but this is wrestling where Cael is superior

[@budjohnson3349]

Funny how everybody's giving DC a hard time about eye pokes. Jon Jones has been getting away with it his whole career. Daniel just got smart and started doing the same. Until they actually make a change in the rules or gear it's gonna keep happening.

[@lugnut78]

Hear we go again with eye pokes on DC give a rest omg yes he did DC just started doing it meanwhile other fighters been doing it way before where's the backlash on that. What about jones 🤔 👀

[@Tj-uu1ww]

@@lugnut78 What do you mean "what about jones"? People call him out about the eye pokes all the time.

[@petergreenwood1043]

Cael is the type of guy that would have been the top Viking warrior if he had been born 800AD.

[@GaryMillerCreative]

I always come back to watching this. Such an entertaining match.

[@parr40]

Sanderson, 4-time All-American from Heber City, straight up nasty Af, his entire stay at Iowa State without losing. International he was beaten 3-2 in overtime by Yoel Romero. It was the 2nd time that Romero beat him.

[@Ajpbs9]

This is crazy seeing that DC actually wrestled Cael Sanderson!

[@ransom6892]

Wrestled him 6 times

[@kewltony]

DC got as far from this weight class as he could

[@pypfidda3193]

🤣🤣🤣

[@prod.gregupnext2958]

Pyp Fidda 😂

[@Dmoney9768_]

It’s amazing to me that when DC did something good no one screamed but when Sanderson did something the place shook!

[@jordanpowell228]

Caels pace was the difference maker. Dc was have a hard time keeping up. Im amazed though at how close he was able to make it at the end, impressive

[@NoahCanFB]

Imagine DC's MMA career at 185. I think he would have beat prime Anderson and held the belt long enough for the rise of Adesanya. Imagine that fight!!

[@zeaferjones1404]

That is what I've always said. I do think DC is pound for pound the greatest of all time because he could have fought at 185 but he fought dudes bigger than him at 205 and then dudes wayyyyy bigger than him at Heavyweight. Stipe has a six pack at 240 while DC looks like he could be at 185 even though DC did weigh more at the weigh ins.

[@stephenasmith273]

He would’ve murdered Anderson. He’s a way more talented wrestler than sonnen and we saw what sonnen did to Silva

[@RICHTVLIVE]

Wow Cormier was in shape when he was younger

[@xXxKiNgGhOsTxXx]

DC been competing at high levels his whole life, great MMA and wrestling careers, he couldn't never beat Jones who's clearly alla round better then him, and Cael was clearly a different animal here. But DC was always the guy pushing them to be as good as they are, which speaks volumes about DC and his abilities.

[@graceandtruthfellowship4347]

I don't think this feat will ever be repeated

[@jasongreen9926]

Daniel cormier has a full house and cal Sanderson hits the straight flush omg unbelievable!!

[@mikeschafer4440]

Looks like DC had a two pair and the other dude had the full house

[@primitivojdavis]

I’m pretty sure the announcer is Bruce Lee because he talked about “implementing your own style” and “being like water” lol

[@user-qx5oi5gr1m]

I never liked wrestling but damn matches like these got me loving the sport

[@bigcake87]

Hearing Jeff Blatnick on something that isn't old MMA is nice. He was quite informative.

[@SouEuIAm]

I'm from the same state as Cael Sanderson. I was in high school when I would see the little Sanderson brothers wrestling in Freestyle and Greco tournaments around the state. They were just in grade school at the time. Cael was really good back then, and I remember thinking that one day he would be great. I'm not surprised at how things turned out for him.

[@jeverettrulz]

Back when DC looked like an athlete instead of a dude taking unfair advantage of the $5 footlong sale..

[@cheese4746]

he still looks like an athlete lmao. he might have a belly but he's still jacked

[@jeverettrulz]

@@cheese4746 ok, i guess everyone has a different definition of what an athlete looks like. Cormier looked like he borrowed Rampage Jackson's body after he was done with it. Maybe he was on his way to challenge Roy Nelson to belly bump contest.

[@apolloskywalker633]

@@jeverettrulz An athlete is an Athlete regardless of what their bodies look like.

[@jeverettrulz]

@@apolloskywalker633 john daly, Roy Nelson, rec league dads and pro bowlers everywhere would agree!

[@fluffymcstuffins0126]

Sandersons dad was my principal and my wrestling coach 🤙

[@terrysmith5010]

Both wrestlers are Absolutely outstanding competitors

[@justingrabko3942]

It’s crazy that Yoel Romero beat Sanderson twice in the Olympics Just shows how good Romero was as a freestyle and amateur wrestler

[@HkFinn83]

He didn’t beat him at the Olympics, Cael won gold. He did best him in the pan American games, but it was when Cael was first dipping his toes in freestyle, which Yoel had done his whole life. Not disrespect to Romero but the different styles make a difference and once Cael had gotten used to the rules you saw the result

[@bolo5190]

Lol Man, DC was in great shape here for sure even though he was much lighter, I could only imagine what is career in the UFC would have been like if he had stayed in this shape, I mean for sure he still had an absolute phenomenal career in the UFC no doubt but being in this kind of shape could take you to greater levels for sure than where he was for sure, DC was almost the total package in UFC but if he was in this kind of shape he would have been the total package for sure..but anyways it's alright he's still one of the greatest mma and combat athletes of all time and a legend for sure..

[@waltermercado9152]

I still cant believe that the year 2001 was 19 years ago.

[@deadheadfor2oh948]

and you have the legend Dan Gable calling some of the match. One legend to another

[@zeikz]

It’s crazy how good DC was! There’s no shame in losing to the best but damn it sucks how good he was and to come up short. Sanderson was just a little better where it counts most during each sequence, his wrestling IQ is impressive.

[@ebaymotorhomes]

Cormier's return to the highest levels of collegiate wrestling following his second defeat to Stipe Miocic is inspiring, and his drop back to 185 pounds makes him look 20 years younger.