Daniel Cormier Eager Austin O'Connor Making his MMA debut this weekend. North Carolina He will face Camden Fontenot at Fury 91 on Sunday.
Cormier, a former two-division UFC champion, Oklahoma The wrestler and Olympian spoke highly of O'Connor's grit on the wrestling mat, recalling how O'Connor became an All-American while battling a torn ACL between winning two national titles.
“What I saw in him his junior year made me know he was the kid I wanted,” Cormier recalled. “That year Austin tore his ACL and couldn't walk. I remember standing on the mat watching him and he could barely walk. He had this giant knee brace and was an All-American but then he withdrew.
“I nearly cried when I saw him. I knew him well and his shoes were awful. Even though his style was awful, I was proud of him. I remember my heart was pounding.”
O'Connor did that after winning a national title. So how did he retire? He went on to win the Tar Heels' 2023 NCAA title at 157 pounds.
“I remember being proud of him. The next year he won again,” Cormier said. “When he was healthy, he won. It wasn't hard. He won in a way that showed he was the absolute best.”
O'Connor recently Illinois Last season. Going back to April 2023, O'Connor told On3. He had plans to do mixed martial arts.
He wanted to juggle both professions and after wrestling he wanted to move into combat sports.
“I reached out to him and he came to Las Vegas because we weren’t the only management team looking to acquire. [O’Connor]”My job was to recruit Austin. Whenever Austin would come to Las Vegas, I'd take him to the Apex show. It was hard to get into the Apex show back then. I did something a little bold. I'd take him to the Apex, have him watch a fight, then take him to the Palms to watch Lomachenko.”
“We had backdoor access and all this cool stuff, so this guy got the real deal. One of the producers from UFC met with Austin after the fight, hung out with him for a bit, played a few cards because he'd been working all day and was tired, and then Austin signed with us.”
Apparently, Cormier was the key that got O'Connor into the promotion and possibly on his way to the UFC.
“He knows he's not where he should be, but he's diligent in that area to work and get better, and that's what's going to make him a great player,” Cormier said. “When you win an NCAA championship, you know you've got something in terms of the competitive spirit. You know with this kid that he's willing to work.”
O'Connor went 112-10 in five seasons at North Carolina, winning a national title during the shortened 2021 season and then going 23-0 to win the title in his final year (2023).
O'Connor won at 149 and 157 pounds, respectively. In 2022, the Tar Heels star struggled with an ACL injury and finished eighth at 157. Just making it onto the podium was a victory in itself.
