Daniel Cormier believes a major shift in financial opportunities is keeping elite American wrestlers from moving into MMA, even as the UFC prepares to debut Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson in July.
Cormier pointed to the current landscape around the 2024 Olympics in Paris, noting that out of 16 American wrestlers on the team, only silver medalist Kennedy Blades has shown serious interest in potentially fighting in MMA.
"We don’t have a male American champion right now," Cormier said, outlining how money inside wrestling has changed the equation for athletes who once saw MMA as the obvious next step.
"I think we might have done so much that the American wrestler isn’t as available right now. There are RTC’s in wrestling where guys make a little more money. Remember, I told you, I used to sit back going how many times did I go right when I should have went left? Now, right is $200,000 a year to coach."
Cormier highlighted that coaching and structures like RTCs and Real American Freestyle now offer wrestlers a more comfortable path to stay in the sport.
"Most wrestlers think that $200,000 is a lot of money, especially when you’re living in those small towns like Stillwater [Okla.] and Happy Valley, wherever Penn State is, Raleigh, N.C. Those small towns that’s a lot of money. The American wrestler isn’t as open to fighting as we need him to be."
