Cormier has retirement in sight: 'I'm going to be done at 40'

Daniel Cormier said Monday he'll retire before his 40th birthday, meaning the UFC light heavyweight champion only plans to take on a couple more bouts in his decorated career.

"Come March, I will have 12 months - at max - left," the 38-year-old told "The MMA Hour," according to Shaun Al-Shatti of MMAFighting.com. "I'm going to be done by March 20, 2019. I won't be fighting again."

Cormier successfully defended his championship Saturday at UFC 220, scoring a TKO of Volkan Oezdemir in the second round en route to Performance of the Night honors.

He's shown no sign of decline with age, but indicated his performance in the Octagon over the next year-plus won't delay his plans to walk away from it.

"I'm done, I'm going to be done at 40," said Cormier, who owns a 20-1 professional record, including a 9-1 record in the UFC. "I won't be back. There won't be jumping around or 'I'm done until I get the right type of fight.' It'll be over. I'm not going to be doing this anymore."

Cormier isn't sure who his next opponent will be, but said he doesn't have heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic on his radar. UFC president Dana White seemingly opened the door for a superfight between the two titlists after UFC 220, telling reporters the match would be in high demand among fans.