Former Olympian Daniel Cormier Next Big Thing In MMA? You Be The Judge

CAREER NOTES: • Fourth in 2004 Olympic Games • Fifth in 2003 World Championships • Four-time U.S. World Team member (2003, 2005-07) • Five-time U.S. Nationals champion (2003-07) • 2003 Pan American Games gold medalist • Earned a spot on the 2003 U.S. World Team six weeks following the death of his 3-month old daughter • 2001 NCAA runner-up at Oklahoma State University.

Does this sound like the next Brock Lesnar/Bobby Lashley figure to be hitting the MMA scene?

He may not have the pro wrestling experience, but with an amateur wrestling resume like this, I think it would be pretty hard to assume that this absurdly gifted grappler will do anything less than pummel his helpless opponents to the cage, take them down to the mat, and make them bleed all over the octagon.

Currently, he has his sights set on dominating MMA's Light Heavyweight Division. Which, by the way, is a great decision, considering he was ranked No. 1 on Team USA at 210lbs. 

He will be training at the legendary American Kickboxing Academy, with the likes of John Fitch and Josh Koscheck. There's no early word about where the 30-year-old Cormier -- a 211-pound entrant in Beijing -- sees himself fitting in. It's unlikely, though, that he'll face anything more competitive in MMA than he has faced outside of it. Cormier was forced to exit the 2008 Beijing Olympics early because of severe dehydration; and a spot on the 2003 world team was preceded by the death of his 3-month-old daughter in a car accident.

Though it has had its share of ups and downs, wrestling has remained one of the more successful fighting styles to build an MMA career upon. Many of UFC's biggest stars have had exraordinary wrestling backgrounds: Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Quinton Jackson, Dan Henderson, Matt Hughes, Jon Fitch, Diego Sanchez, Rashad Evans, Tito Ortiz, Clay Guida, Roger Huerta, Josh Koscheck, Frankie Edgar, Matt Hamill, Brandon Vera, Gray Maynard, and many others.

But wrestling success is no guarantee of MMA success. For every Randy Couture or Dan Severn, both of whom competed on the U.S. national team in international competition, and are among only a handful of fighters in the UFC Hall of Fame, there are other great wrestlers, including national champions and Olympians, who have gone nowhere in MMA.

If Daniel Cormier wishes to be as successful in MMA as he has been with amateur wrestling, then he is going to have to expand his game. He has to gain more knowledge of the other fighting techniques that make MMA such a splendid sport.  Without at least a minimal knowledge of Boxing, Kick Boxing, Muay Thai, and BJJ, then his wrestling glory days will mean nothing.

That being said, Cormier has signed up with one of the best teams in MMA, and if he puts forth the same effort into MMA as he has in the sport of amateur wrestling, then this should be a walk in the park.