How is Cormier so good?

[Gonzoplata**]

I'm a huge fan but I'm still surprised about how Cormier can be so good while being so fat. I understand why people cut weight: less fat and less water mean more muscle mass at a given weight. So if you carry around more fat you have less muscle mass. Basically all athletes in weight differentiated sports seem to cut: boxing, wrestling, judo, bjj etc Cormier was already fat when he was competing in wrestling, where people cut like crazy in order to have an advantage... so how can he be so damn good with that chubby build of his?

 

[csroster]

TS sounds prejudiced towards fat people.

 

[BigMuffler]

Because bodyfat percentage is overrated.

 

[ChadWarden]

Talent > Muscles

By your logic Overeem should be the undisputed champ, but chubby Velasquez would tune his ass up 10/10 times.

 

[marcusnz80]

Ha, I know what you mean. Hes short, fat, light (for a hw when he competed there), old, inexperienced and yet for some reason beats the shit out of everyone.

 

[Danwardo]

Bit of topic, but the guy who beat Cormier at the Olympics, and got gold, any reason why he has not came into MMA? Do you actually make a living being an amateur wrestler?

 

[cubfanq]

Mostly fighting guys that are near the end of their career helps

 

[Degen Gambler]

Big guys (HW and LHW) can afford to have some excess fat. The midgets need to be lean because each pound matters a lot more the lower you go.

 

[Bubblun]

he is not fat, he is built like a fireplug.

this isn't your average fat man.

 

[justblaze717]

He's an elite athlete, he was on the US olympic team.

 

[BionicCommando]

He has what NFL scouts would call a "fire hydrant build".

 

[Sansara]

Because bodyfat percentage is overrated.

This. You can still be fit being a little chubby. Modern beauty standards are completely out of control. Anything over 15% body fat for a male is considered ''fat''. For women it is even worse.

 

[Bluntforce420]

the amount of mental toughness it takes to become such an elite wrestler like himself cannot be measured

 

[riitzni]

Have you seen the dude irl? He defines barrel chested. He is like a meter wide.

 

[BJ@LW&WW]

He's not fat... he has a wide frame in the z-plane.

 

[Horse Meat]

He's an elite athlete, he was on the US olympic team.

He was captain. He's an amazing athlete.

And TS, visible muscles don't mean everything. The dude is built like a brick shithouse.

 

[sb413197]

Ha, I know what you mean. Hes short, fat, light (for a hw when he competed there), old, inexperienced and yet for some reason beats the shit out of everyone.

Kinda reminds you of some other guys, no?

I think some guys take the route of staying very well nourished and eating whatever they want more or less, and take the hit by fighting slightly bigger guys. If a guy is talented enough it may be worth it to them.

 

[SouthernThinker]

the amount of mental toughness it takes to become such an elite wrestler like himself cannot be measured

Just imagine how good Cael Sanderson is. He beat Cormier three different times. Wish Sanderson would have gotten into MMA, but he's doing fine where he's at.

 

[Bluesbreaker]

He found the physique that works best for him. He's compact, powerful and hasn't lost much from dehydrating himself.

 

[jimmyw404]

Kinda reminds you of some other guys, no?

I think some guys take the route of staying very well nourished and eating whatever they want more or less, and take the hit by fighting slightly bigger guys. If a guy is talented enough it may be worth it to them.

BJ is a bad example. When he started training seriously (around the time he beat Diego Sanchez) he started getting a lot leaner and more defined. This was also when he started to reach his potential but couldn't keep up his motivation at this point in his career

Cormier also isn't fat by any means. He is chubbier than most LHWs but he will probably lose some of that over the next year as he adjusts to being in LHW.

To answer OP's question, Cormier is incredibly strong and fast and has world class technique. He's probably the strongest guy at LHW and has the best wrestling at LHW.