Cormier can finish career in 2018

38-year-old UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier admits that next year he can complete his professional career in mixed martial arts.

"I've been pretty vocal about it, that you'll never see me at 40," Cormier told ESPN. "We may be going into my last year in 2018. And I'm completely at peace with that.

"It's time for this dude [nods at his son, Daniel Jr.] to take precedent in terms of sports. I've been doing high-level sports since I was 15. I can't do it forever. I'm ready to give the commitment and focus to my boy, after a few fights. I've got a couple [fights] left in me."

"I think one of my biggest mistakes has been hinging so much on one person," Cormier said. "It's unfair to my career to base it all on him, but yes, I do still feel he's the icing on the cake.

"There's nothing like a loss. Some people take time and move past it. I never do. All those losses in the big spots -- NCAA finals, Olympic semifinals, Olympic bronze-medal match, the fights with Jones -- they all stay with me. I think that's what makes me, me."