DANIEL CORMIER JOINS "UFC TONIGHT" ON FOX SPORTS 1

Undefeated UFC Light Heavyweight Title Challenger Assumes Co-Host Role

Los Angeles - Daniel Cormier likes to stay busy. He's undefeated in 15 mixed martial arts fights, including winning four straight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He's the current UFC light heavyweight title challenger, scheduled to fight champion Jon Jones for the belt at UFC 182 on Jan. 3. He's the new captain for his fight team, American Kickboxing Academy. He's a regular UFC on FOX analyst, appearing on PREFIGHT and POSTFIGHT SHOWS on FOX, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. And he's just been named the co-host of UFC TONIGHT, the official news and information show of the UFC on FOX Sports 1, the network announced today.

Cormier joins an accomplished broadcast team, including co-host and former UFC multiple title contender Kenny Florian, veteran combat sports journalist Karyn Bryant and four-time World MMA Awards Journalist of the Year Ariel Helwani, discussing the top UFC news, breaking down the biggest fights and interviewing the biggest names in the sport every Wednesday at 8:00 PM ET on FOX Sports 1.

"I love being a part of UFC on FOX family and extending my mixed martial arts career," says Cormier. "The TV analyst role is exciting, fun and actually improves my fighting skills, because I see the action so differently now. I look forward to working with the team each week on UFC TONIGHT and vow to bring the light heavyweight title belt with me to the desk in January."

"We're thrilled to have Daniel join the UFC TONIGHT team on a permanent basis," says Steve Becker, FOX Sports coordinating producer - UFC. "He's been working with us as an analyst and fill-in co-host for almost two years and has proven to be a natural talent in front of the camera, providing excellent insight and a fantastic personality."

"I'm very excited that Daniel Cormier will be my partner on UFC TONIGHT," says co-host Florian. "Daniel is one of the few people who can bring high-level analysis, world class fighting skill, experience, humor and personality to the table. Having a friend like Daniel on set makes the show a lot more fun and I look forward to many shows with him."

Cormier lives in San Jose and trains mixed martial arts daily at American Kickboxing Academy, with its all-star team that includes some of the best in the UFC including heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, Luke Rockhold, Josh Thomson, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Mike Swick, Mike Kyle, Noad Lahat and many others. Cormier joined the team in 2009.

Born in Lafayette, LA, Cormier was a three-time wrestling state champion and All-American in high school, compiling a 101-9 record. In addition, he was also an All-State performer in football. Cormier attended Colby Community College and was a two-time junior college wrestling national champion, transferring to wrestling powerhouse Oklahoma State University, where he was an NCAA runner-up.

After graduating from Oklahoma State with a degree in sociology, Daniel went on to compete on five United States world wrestling teams and the 2004 Olympic wrestling team, where he took fourth place. Daniel was named team captain of the 2008 Olympic wrestling team, but did not compete due to illness.

Cormier competed for a short time in the defunct Real Pro Wrestling league before deciding to pursue a career in mixed martial arts in 2009. After making his professional debut, Cormier traveled to Australia and won the XMMA Heavyweight Championship in 2010, the first of several titles.

In May 2012, Cormier became the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix champion by defeating legend Josh Barnett. He made his UFC debut against former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir on April 20, 2013, at UFC on FOX 7 and won the fight via unanimous decision. He has since moved to light heavyweight and is currently ranked number two in the world.

His interests include mixed martial arts, wrestling, reading and playing video games. He's engaged to Salina Deleon and has two children with her: Daniel Ryan (3) and Marquita Kalani "Keke" (2). Follow Daniel on Twitter at: @dc_mma