Daniel Cormier admits he DID use ‘towel trick’ to magically lose more than a pound in a minute before famous UFC fight
DANIEL CORMIER has admitted he DID use the ‘towel trick’ to magically lose more than a pound before his famous UFC title defence.
The American, now 43, failed to make the 205lb limit when he stepped on the scales stark naked and weighed 206.2lb ahead of his rematch with Anthony Johnson at UFC 210 in April 2017.
He was given a couple of hours to go away and shed the final 1.2lb to keep his light heavyweight world title defence intact.
Instead, he went behind the scenes and immediately returned with the pair of burly blokes still holding up a towel to protect his privacy.
However, Cormier grabbed hold of the towel and leaned into it slightly, allowing it to take some of the weight and help him hit the limit.
That gave DC the green light to fight Johnson and ultimately keep his crown with a second-round rear-naked choke submission in Buffalo, New York.
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But upon his introduction to the UFC Hall of Fame last night, Cormier came clean on his cheating scandal in a bizarre confession.
He said in Las Vegas: “Guys, I want to tell you something because I feel like right now is the time to be completely transparent.
“I think I may have grabbed the towel in Buffalo.
“I walked back to the back after missing weight by 1.2lb.
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“I tried to give it up guys, trust me, I tried to give it up.
“I had a pound to lose, they even went and called my wife to try to get me back in the tub.
“I said, ‘No way, this s***’s over.’ She told me, Daniel, just take a hot bath.
“I go, ‘It’s not that simple.'”
Then Cormier explained how his nutritionist Dan Leith had the idea to try one final play – the towel trick.
He continued: “Dan goes, ‘DC, do you remember the old wrestling trick?’
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“I said, ‘Can you stand behind me?’ Because there’s two. You can put your hands behind you and the person can lift you up.
“He said, No, it’s the towel one.’
“But do you understand the level of ridiculousness that has to happen in order for that to work?
“I looked down and could not believe my luck. I am a lucky guy.
“Even when I would lose, somehow the belt would just come back to me. I was like, I’m a lucky guy.
“So, I look down, and the commissioner’s down on the floor looking at the scale.
“There’s a second lady. I look down, and she’s right next to him, so I grab the towel like, ‘S***, we’re home free!'”
Cormier went on to become a two-weight world champ when he dethroned Stipe Miocic in 2018 to take the heavyweight crown.
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But he lost rematches to Miocic in 2019 and 2020 then decided to hang up his gloves and retire.
The popular Louisiana man ended with a pro MMA record off 22 wins, three defeats and one no contest.
