Daniel Cormier is eager for Austin O’Connor’s MMA debut this weekend. The two-time NCAA wrestling champion from North Carolina will fight at Fury 91 Sunday against Camden Fontenot.
Cormier, a former two-weight UFC champion, Oklahoma State wrestler and Olympian appreciated O’Connor’s grit on the wrestling mat. He recalled O’Connor battling through a torn ACL to become an All-American in between his two national titles.
“It was something I saw in his junior season that made me feel like he was a kid that I wanted to make sure that we got,” Cormier recalled. “During that year, Austin tore his ACL and he couldn’t walk. I remember standing on the side of the mat watching him and he could barely walk. He’s got a huge knee brace, and he became an All-American and then he forfeited out.
“I almost wanted to cry watching him because I had gotten to know him and the kid had horrible shoes; as horrible as his style is, I was proud of him. I remember my heart kind of skipping a beat.”
O’Connor did that after winning a national title. So how did he go out? He won the 2023 NCAA title for the Tar Heels at 157 pounds.
“I just remember feeling proud of him and the next year he won again,” Cormier said. “When he was healthy, he won and it wasn’t hard. He won in a way that showed you he was the absolute best.”
O’Connor most recently served as an assistant coach for Illinois this past season. Dating back to April of 2023, O’Connor told On3 he had plans to do MMA.
He wanted to manage both professions and had fighting aspirations after wrestling.
“I reached out to him and he came out to Las Vegas because we weren’t the only management team trying to get [O’Connor],” Cormier said. “I was tasked with the recruitment of Austin. Listen to this, Austin comes to Vegas and I take him to an APEX show. At the time, it was hard to get into the APEX shows. I’m swinging big stick a little bit. We take him to the APEX, he watches the fights, then I take him over to the Palms and he watches Lomachenko.
“We had backdoor access and all of this cool stuff, so this guy is getting the real deal. One of the producers of the UFC goes with Austin afterwards and hangs out with him a little bit, plays cards because I’m tired and I worked all day. Next thing you know, Austin signs with us.”
Sounds like Cormier was key to getting O’Connor to this promotion and perhaps a potential path to the UFC.
“Him being able to recognize that he’s not where he needs to be but also be willing to work in that area and be diligent to be able to get better is what’s going to make him great,” Cormier said. “When a guy wins NCAA Championships, you know that there’s something there in terms of being a competitor. Being around this kid, I know that he’s willing to put the work in.”
O’Connor went 112-10 in five seasons at UNC. He won a national title during the shortened 2021 season and went 23-0 in his final year (2023) to secure a title.
O’Connor won at 149 and 157 pounds, respectively. In 2022, the Tar Heels star dealt with an ACL injury and only finished eighth at 157 pounds. The fact that he got to the podium was a victory in itself.
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