Latest news with #Cormier
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
The Ultimate Fighter turns 20: UFC's signature show's new season stars coaches Cormier, Sonnen
The fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar has been mythologized for 20 years as the one that saved UFC. The spectacular, bloody brawl so masterful — the main event on the first season of a new reality show, aired live on Spike TV — that UFC soon skyrocketed from a weakened MMA promotion potentially on the brink of new ownership into a sports and pop culture phenomenon. (And yes, a billion-dollar empire.) It's billed as the fight that forever changed UFC. Right? 'The whole thing is complete BS but I'm happy to play along,' retired UFC fighter and noted trash-talker Chael Sonnen said. 'It does get too much credit. It didn't change the world just because it was on Spike TV.' Hold up, former UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier would like a word. 'I don't think it gets enough credit for what it did to the sport,' Cormier said. 'I watched that as a wrestler and I knew that I was watching something happen. I didn't know what it was. But it was something.' The two can debate the fight's spot in MMA history all they want — Griffin won the decision, but the viral attention gained by the highly entertaining bout is widely credited with exposing the little-known sport to a larger worldwide audience — since the verbal sparring is part of each fighter's appeal. What neither can deny is how the show responsible for the fight — 'The Ultimate Fighter' — has become a UFC staple and is widely regarded as one essential in the survival and eventual expansion of UFC. 'I don't know why they ever let this be called a reality show,' Sonnen said. 'I really do feel it's a miss. This is a documentation of the toughest tournament in all of sport. You will not find a harder sports process anywhere, aside from possibly the Olympic Games.' Cormier and Sonnen returned as coaches in the show more commonly known as TUF's 20th anniversary year. Though the show debuted on Jan. 17, 2005, UFC counts 31 seasons of the show that has launched prospects such as Griffin and Rose Namajunas into future champions. 'The Ultimate Fighter' — which airs Tuesday nights on ESPN and ESPN-plus — features Cormier and Sonnen coaching 16 men's flyweight and welterweight prospects that live and train together in Las Vegas with the winner (and sometimes the losers) earning a UFC contract. While the coaches often fight at the end of each season, Cormier and Sonnen are both retired and have shifted into broadcasting and their 'Good Guy/Bad Guy' podcast. 'The show is about the guys,' Cormier said. 'Chael and I not fighting doesn't take away from that because I think ultimately the experience for the athlete is going to be better. We aren't fighting. We can compete against each other and make them do the fighting. They ultimately do take the spotlight and it's on them, as it's supposed to be.' Sonnen coached against Wanderlei Silva and again against UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones in 2013 and was soundly defeated by the champ. Cormier was the UFC light heavyweight champion when he agreed to coach against heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in 2017. Cormier would go on to defeat Miocic at UFC 226 and became only the second fighter to be champion in two divisions simultaneously. The move worked out for Cormier. Not so much for his students. 'They either had to do what I was doing to keep up in most instances or it felt like a failure,' Cormier said. 'They were getting hurt. They were overtraining them. When you're an athlete, you've got to be selfish. While I was still in the show, I was worried about fighting Stipe Miocic and winning the heavyweight championship. This time, I don't have that. I can literally just coach and give them my all as a coach.' Cormier wins the coin flip Cormier won a coin flip and drafted first last week in the first episode and picked Brazilian fighter Eduardo Henrique. Sonnen would draft Diego Bianchini — a fighter appropriately known as 'The Brazilian Bad Boy.' 'Once you get inside here,' UFC President Dana White told the fight prospects, 'this competition is an absolute pressure cooker. But don't forget why you came here and what the prize is at the end of this.' Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. Cormier was surely glad more fights and episodes are ahead — Henrique was choked out by Sonnen's Joseph Morales. The days of having to save UFC are long over. The thrill of winning TUF and earning that contract continue into the show's next decade. 'That ending still feels special,' Cormier said. 'You win the tournament, you get a contract. That's what makes 'The Ultimate Fighter' work. That's why it's worked for 20 years.' ___ AP sports:
San Francisco Chronicle
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
The Ultimate Fighter turns 20: UFC's signature show's new season stars coaches Cormier, Sonnen
The fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar has been mythologized for 20 years as the one that saved UFC. The spectacular, bloody brawl so masterful — the main event on the first season of a new reality show, aired live on Spike TV — that UFC soon skyrocketed from a weakened MMA promotion potentially on the brink of new ownership into a sports and pop culture phenomenon. It's billed as the fight that forever changed UFC. Right? 'The whole thing is complete BS but I'm happy to play along,' retired UFC fighter and noted trash-talker Chael Sonnen said. 'It does get too much credit. It didn't change the world just because it was on Spike TV.' Hold up, former UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier would like a word. 'I don't think it gets enough credit for what it did to the sport,' Cormier said. 'I watched that as a wrestler and I knew that I was watching something happen. I didn't know what it was. But it was something.' The two can debate the fight's spot in MMA history all they want — Griffin won the decision, but the viral attention gained by the highly entertaining bout is widely credited with exposing the little-known sport to a larger worldwide audience — since the verbal sparring is part of each fighter's appeal. What neither can deny is how the show responsible for the fight — 'The Ultimate Fighter' — has become a UFC staple and is widely regarded as one essential in the survival and eventual expansion of UFC. 'I don't know why they ever let this be called a reality show,' Sonnen said. 'I really do feel it's a miss. This is a documentation of the toughest tournament in all of sport. You will not find a harder sports process anywhere, aside from possibly the Olympic Games." Cormier and Sonnen returned as coaches in the show more commonly known as TUF's 20th anniversary year. Though the show debuted on Jan. 17, 2005, UFC counts 31 seasons of the show that has launched prospects such as Griffin and Rose Namajunas into future champions. "The Ultimate Fighter" — which airs Tuesday nights on ESPN and ESPN-plus — features Cormier and Sonnen coaching 16 men's flyweight and welterweight prospects that live and train together in Las Vegas with the winner (and sometimes the losers) earning a UFC contract. While the coaches often fight at the end of each season, Cormier and Sonnen are both retired and have shifted into broadcasting and their 'Good Guy/Bad Guy' podcast. 'The show is about the guys,' Cormier said. 'Chael and I not fighting doesn't take away from that because I think ultimately the experience for the athlete is going to be better. We aren't fighting. We can compete against each other and make them do the fighting. They ultimately do take the spotlight and it's on them, as it's supposed to be.' Sonnen coached against Wanderlei Silva and again against UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones in 2013 and was soundly defeated by the champ. Cormier was the UFC light heavyweight champion when he agreed to coach against heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in 2017. Cormier would go on to defeat Miocic at UFC 226 and became only the second fighter to be champion in two divisions simultaneously. The move worked out for Cormier. Not so much for his students. 'They either had to do what I was doing to keep up in most instances or it felt like a failure,' Cormier said. 'They were getting hurt. They were overtraining them. When you're an athlete, you've got to be selfish. While I was still in the show, I was worried about fighting Stipe Miocic and winning the heavyweight championship. This time, I don't have that. I can literally just coach and give them my all as a coach.' Cormier wins the coin flip Cormier won a coin flip and drafted first last week in the first episode and picked Brazilian fighter Eduardo Henrique. Sonnen would draft Diego Bianchini — a fighter appropriately known as 'The Brazilian Bad Boy.' 'Once you get inside here,' UFC President Dana White told the fight prospects, 'this competition is an absolute pressure cooker. But don't forget why you came here and what the prize is at the end of this.' Cormier was surely glad more fights and episodes are ahead — Henrique was choked out by Sonnen's Joseph Morales. The days of having to save UFC are long over. The thrill of winning TUF and earning that contract continue into the show's next decade. 'That ending still feels special,' Cormier said. 'You win the tournament, you get a contract. That's what makes 'The Ultimate Fighter' work. That's why it's worked for 20 years.' ___
Fox Sports
4 hours ago
- Business
- Fox Sports
The Ultimate Fighter turns 20: UFC's signature show's new season stars coaches Cormier, Sonnen
Associated Press The fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar has been mythologized for 20 years as the one that saved UFC. The spectacular, bloody brawl so masterful — the main event on the first season of a new reality show, aired live on Spike TV — that UFC soon skyrocketed from a weakened MMA promotion potentially on the brink of new ownership into a sports and pop culture phenomenon. (And yes, a billion-dollar empire.) It's billed as the fight that forever changed UFC. Right? 'The whole thing is complete BS but I'm happy to play along,' retired UFC fighter and noted trash-talker Chael Sonnen said. 'It does get too much credit. It didn't change the world just because it was on Spike TV.' Hold up, former UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier would like a word. 'I don't think it gets enough credit for what it did to the sport,' Cormier said. 'I watched that as a wrestler and I knew that I was watching something happen. I didn't know what it was. But it was something.' The two can debate the fight's spot in MMA history all they want — Griffin won the decision, but the viral attention gained by the highly entertaining bout is widely credited with exposing the little-known sport to a larger worldwide audience — since the verbal sparring is part of each fighter's appeal. What neither can deny is how the show responsible for the fight — 'The Ultimate Fighter' — has become a UFC staple and is widely regarded as one essential in the survival and eventual expansion of UFC. 'I don't know why they ever let this be called a reality show,' Sonnen said. 'I really do feel it's a miss. This is a documentation of the toughest tournament in all of sport. You will not find a harder sports process anywhere, aside from possibly the Olympic Games." Cormier and Sonnen returned as coaches in the show more commonly known as TUF's 20th anniversary year. Though the show debuted on Jan. 17, 2005, UFC counts 31 seasons of the show that has launched prospects such as Griffin and Rose Namajunas into future champions. "The Ultimate Fighter" — which airs Tuesday nights on ESPN and ESPN-plus — features Cormier and Sonnen coaching 16 men's flyweight and welterweight prospects that live and train together in Las Vegas with the winner (and sometimes the losers) earning a UFC contract. While the coaches often fight at the end of each season, Cormier and Sonnen are both retired and have shifted into broadcasting and their 'Good Guy/Bad Guy' podcast. 'The show is about the guys,' Cormier said. 'Chael and I not fighting doesn't take away from that because I think ultimately the experience for the athlete is going to be better. We aren't fighting. We can compete against each other and make them do the fighting. They ultimately do take the spotlight and it's on them, as it's supposed to be.' Sonnen coached against Wanderlei Silva and again against UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones in 2013 and was soundly defeated by the champ. Cormier was the UFC light heavyweight champion when he agreed to coach against heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in 2017. Cormier would go on to defeat Miocic at UFC 226 and became only the second fighter to be champion in two divisions simultaneously. The move worked out for Cormier. Not so much for his students. 'They either had to do what I was doing to keep up in most instances or it felt like a failure,' Cormier said. 'They were getting hurt. They were overtraining them. When you're an athlete, you've got to be selfish. While I was still in the show, I was worried about fighting Stipe Miocic and winning the heavyweight championship. This time, I don't have that. I can literally just coach and give them my all as a coach.' Cormier wins the coin flip Cormier won a coin flip and drafted first last week in the first episode and picked Brazilian fighter Eduardo Henrique. Sonnen would draft Diego Bianchini — a fighter appropriately known as 'The Brazilian Bad Boy.' 'Once you get inside here,' UFC President Dana White told the fight prospects, 'this competition is an absolute pressure cooker. But don't forget why you came here and what the prize is at the end of this.' Cormier was surely glad more fights and episodes are ahead — Henrique was choked out by Sonnen's Joseph Morales. The days of having to save UFC are long over. The thrill of winning TUF and earning that contract continue into the show's next decade. 'That ending still feels special,' Cormier said. 'You win the tournament, you get a contract. That's what makes 'The Ultimate Fighter' work. That's why it's worked for 20 years.' ___ AP sports:
Global News
4 days ago
- General
- Global News
Meet a Canadian who is nearly 80 and will be graduating for the first time
Cap-Pelé,N.B. resident Jeannette Cormier was surrounded by people decades younger than her when she decided to enroll in an adult learning program in her late 70s. She's now passed all her courses and is getting ready for her first-ever graduation ceremony, where she will receive her Canadian Adult Education Credential — equivalent to a high school diploma. 'I wanted to start again and do what I was supposed to do,' she said in an interview. Cormier said math was her favourite subject when she attended school as a child at a one-room schoolhouse in rural New Brunswick. She had to drop out at 10-years-old, working for her parents until she started having children when she was 15. 'I had to look after my children, so I didn't have a chance to go back to school,' she said. Story continues below advertisement Cormier raised five children, including the late Rhéal Cormier, a former Major League baseball player who played for Canada in the 1988 Olympics. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Her son Ola Cormier, now 62-years-old, recalled how she would show a lot of interest in her children's schoolwork and speak about wanting to resume her studies throughout the decades. A few years ago, he encouraged her to resume her studies. 'I said, 'Mom, why not? You can finish high school, there's no age limit,'' he said. While there were some bumps in the road, Jeannette never gave up. 'Sometimes I would bring my books home and I would study almost until 11 o'clock at night,' Jeannette said with a laugh. 'Believe me, I was tired doing it but I did it just the same.' Her home-care worker, Nicole Cormier, said it was inspiring watching Jeannette study for her last test. 'She just never quits!' Nicole said of Jeannette. 'I was always amazed at her memory. She remembers everything.' Nicole said she was thrilled when Jeanette found out she passed her final test. 'I think (Jeannette) is very inspiring and we shouldn't put limits on ourselves. You can do anything at any age,' she said. Story continues below advertisement For Jeannette, it's simple. 'If you want your dream, you have to go out and get it!' she said. Jeannette will be surrounded by friends and family at an upcoming graduation ceremony in Moncton on June 18. Ola has ordered a graduation banner for her to display in front of her home. 'For her, she finally achieved her dream and for me it's very emotional,' he said.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Suffolk Hires Experienced Airport Construction Leader Peter Cormier as SVP Field Operations National Transportation to Accelerate National Growth in Strategic Sector
Suffolk strengthens leadership team to support aviation sector as reports from Airports Council International estimate U.S. airports will require $173.9 billion in infrastructure investments over the next five years BOSTON, May 29, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Suffolk, one of the largest and most innovative construction enterprises in the country, announced it hired Peter Cormier as the new senior vice president of field operations and national transportation. With his extensive industry background, Mr. Cormier will focus on leading Suffolk's aviation sector growth strategy with a focus on expanding the company's portfolio across major airport projects nationwide. Mr. Cormier's leadership and project experience aligns with Suffolk's aviation portfolio and commitment to operational excellence in aviation. Mr. Cormier joins Suffolk with extensive expertise in aviation and transportation construction, as well as a variety of projects and building types. Prior to joining Suffolk, he served as project executive at Cranshaw Construction. Throughout his career, he has managed and overseen complex projects, including the Terminal B Optimization project at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS); Massachusetts Port Authority's (Massport) 2050 Garage Expansion and Economy Parking Garage; Assembly Row in Somerville, Massachusetts; the Stilling Street Office & Garage in Boston, and pre-construction efforts for Harvard University's Dunster House Renovation and Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Brain & Cognitive Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In his new role, Mr. Cormier will oversee the consistent execution of Suffolk's standard operating procedures and operational excellence frameworks across all field operations to ensure projects meet the highest standards of safety, schedule and budget performance. He will also play a key role in advancing Suffolk's strategic growth in the aviation sector while contributing to project delivery and pursuit efforts nationwide. "We are thrilled to welcome Peter to our leadership team as we strengthen our position in the aviation sector," said Sam Sleiman, Executive Vice President of National Transportation at Suffolk. "Peter brings valuable perspective to Suffolk at a pivotal time for aviation construction nationwide. As airports continue modernizing their facilities to meet growing passenger demands, Peter will be instrumental in expanding Suffolk's aviation footprint across the country." "I am excited to join Suffolk and lead the company's aviation operations," said Mr. Cormier. "Suffolk's innovation-driven approach and operational excellence makes it a natural partner for complex airport projects. The company's philosophy resonates deeply with me, as it emphasizes an understanding of owner perspectives and needs in this specialized sector. I look forward to building on Suffolk's strong foundation and helping shape the future of aviation construction." Suffolk's unique value proposition in the aviation sector stems from its owner-perspective philosophy, which leads to thorough understanding of the complex planning and collaboration necessary to minimize disruption to ongoing operations while meeting the demanding schedules and budgetary requirements unique to airport construction. As a national leader in managing sophisticated and complex aviation projects, Suffolk has an expansive active portfolio including Terminal C renovations and the electric central utility plant (eCup) at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW); the design-build expansion and renovation to Airsides A and E at Tampa International Airport; and a 14-gate Terminal E concourse at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers. Suffolk's work managing the modernization of Terminal E at BOS was also recognized as one of the "World's Most Beautiful Airports" from Prix Versailles and received the CMAA Project Achievement award for preconstruction and construction management services. Suffolk was also awarded the CMAA Project Excellence award for its extensive renovations and additions to the Boston Logan International Airport Terminal B to C Connector project. On active aviation projects, including the renovation of Terminal C at DFW, Suffolk has deployed innovative technologies including drones, robotics, laser scanning, IoT sensors, and AI tools, which have delivered significant cost savings and efficiency improvements. This strategy of leveraging cutting-edge technology is helping transform the construction process for airport clients nationwide. About Suffolk Suffolk is a national enterprise that builds, innovates and invests. Suffolk is an end-to-end business that provides value throughout the entire project lifecycle by leveraging its core construction management services with vertical service lines that include real estate capital investment, design, self-perform construction services, technology start-up investment (Suffolk Technologies) and innovation research/development. Suffolk – America's Contractor – is a national company with more than $6.5 billion in annual revenue, 3,000 employees, and offices in Boston (headquarters); New York City and Westchester County; Miami, West Palm Beach, Tampa and Estero in Florida; Dallas; Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego in California; Las Vegas; Portland, Maine; New Haven, Connecticut; Herndon, Virginia; and Salt Lake City. Suffolk manages some of the most complex, sophisticated projects in the country, serving clients in every major industry sector, including healthcare, life sciences, education, gaming, transportation/aviation, federal government and public work, mission critical, advanced technology and commercial. Suffolk is privately held and is led by Founder, Chairman and CEO John Fish. Suffolk is ranked #8 on ENR's list of "Largest Domestic Builders" and #8 on its list of "Top CM-at-Risk Contractors." For more information, visit and follow Suffolk on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. View source version on Contacts Media Contact Information: Dan Antonellisdantonellis@ +1 (617) 517 4232
