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At UFC 226, Daniel Cormier became only the second man ever to hold two UFC belts simultaneously when he knocked out Stipe Miocic to claim the heavyweight title. It was the biggest win of Cormier’s career and immediately vaulted the double champ into the conversation of “Greatest of All Time.” It also set up a massive money fight with former champion Brock Lesnar, who was cageside for the fight and came in afterwards to cut a promo on Cormier.
But while the UFC is full steam ahead with the return of Lesnar, Miocic is upset with the way things went down after he lost his belt, and he’s not the only one. Fans, fighters, and even UFC commentator Joe Rogan have opined that, as is often the case with long-reigning champions, Miocic deserves a second shot at Cormier. But while Cormier is sympathetic to the idea, the champ champ says that Miocic will just have to wait because “you don’t turn your back” on a fight like Brock Lesnar.
“Obviously he feels he deserves a rematch,” Cormier said on The Steve Austin Show recently. “Again, for what he’s done in the sport, you would think that he would get a rematch, but when there’s a fight like Lesnar on the horizon, you don’t turn your back. Honestly, Stipe has a lot of really loyal fans, but you can’t think for a second that if he would have won that fight, he wouldn’t have wanted or taken that Lesnar fight. It’s the biggest fight in the sport outside of fighting Conor McGregor and he fights at 155 pounds. So yeah, I’m gonna fight Brock.”
Lesnar is among the very biggest pay-per-view draws in MMA history, topping over 1 million buys on four separate occasions, a feat only matched by Conor McGregor. His return to the cage at UFC 200 after a five-year hiatus from the sport was among those, proving he still has a powerful ability to draw interest among fight fans so it’s no wonder Cormier wants to fight him since, as champion, Cormier gets a percentage of the PPV sales. But, ‘DC’ says that fighting Lesnar is about more than just the money. Before he dropped down to 205 pounds to pursue Jon Jones, Cormier was among the very best heavyweights in the world, and his title win at UFC 226 showed that, had he stayed at heavyweight, he might be in consideration for the Greatest of All Time conversation in the weight class. A win over Lesnar, Cormier says, would only solidify that argument more.
“Brock’s a big, bad, tough boy,” Cormier said. “A former UFC champ. Obviously he’s the WWE champion. Just a massive guy with a lot of fighting ability. I’ve known Brock a long, long time and I’m excited to compete against him. And really, not to compete against him, I want to put it on him because when you beat a guy like Brock Lesnar - if I beat the most dominant heavyweight champ of all time and then couple that with a fight over Brock, they may call me one of the great heavyweights of all time.”
Lesnar is currently out of commission until January as he must pass six months of USADA tests to be cleared to fight. In the meantime, Cormier has said he intends to defend his 205 pound title before the end of the year, despite many thinking Cormier would never fight at light heavyweight again after winning the heavyweight title since the cut is so difficult for him to make. But Cormier says that he has every intention of holding on to both belts right up until he retires in March.
“It’ll be tough but it’s always tough,” Cormier said. “It’s well-documented how difficult it is for me every time I go to 205. This will be nothing new. The next time I have a light heavyweight fight, I’ll go down there, I’ll make the weight, and I’ll fight. . . I do want to keep this belt. I don’t want to have to give it up because the UFC doesn’t believe I can make the weight. I can make the weight.”
But while the UFC is full steam ahead with the return of Lesnar, Miocic is upset with the way things went down after he lost his belt, and he’s not the only one. Fans, fighters, and even UFC commentator Joe Rogan have opined that, as is often the case with long-reigning champions, Miocic deserves a second shot at Cormier. But while Cormier is sympathetic to the idea, the champ champ says that Miocic will just have to wait because “you don’t turn your back” on a fight like Brock Lesnar.
“Obviously he feels he deserves a rematch,” Cormier said on The Steve Austin Show recently. “Again, for what he’s done in the sport, you would think that he would get a rematch, but when there’s a fight like Lesnar on the horizon, you don’t turn your back. Honestly, Stipe has a lot of really loyal fans, but you can’t think for a second that if he would have won that fight, he wouldn’t have wanted or taken that Lesnar fight. It’s the biggest fight in the sport outside of fighting Conor McGregor and he fights at 155 pounds. So yeah, I’m gonna fight Brock.”
Lesnar is among the very biggest pay-per-view draws in MMA history, topping over 1 million buys on four separate occasions, a feat only matched by Conor McGregor. His return to the cage at UFC 200 after a five-year hiatus from the sport was among those, proving he still has a powerful ability to draw interest among fight fans so it’s no wonder Cormier wants to fight him since, as champion, Cormier gets a percentage of the PPV sales. But, ‘DC’ says that fighting Lesnar is about more than just the money. Before he dropped down to 205 pounds to pursue Jon Jones, Cormier was among the very best heavyweights in the world, and his title win at UFC 226 showed that, had he stayed at heavyweight, he might be in consideration for the Greatest of All Time conversation in the weight class. A win over Lesnar, Cormier says, would only solidify that argument more.
“Brock’s a big, bad, tough boy,” Cormier said. “A former UFC champ. Obviously he’s the WWE champion. Just a massive guy with a lot of fighting ability. I’ve known Brock a long, long time and I’m excited to compete against him. And really, not to compete against him, I want to put it on him because when you beat a guy like Brock Lesnar - if I beat the most dominant heavyweight champ of all time and then couple that with a fight over Brock, they may call me one of the great heavyweights of all time.”
Lesnar is currently out of commission until January as he must pass six months of USADA tests to be cleared to fight. In the meantime, Cormier has said he intends to defend his 205 pound title before the end of the year, despite many thinking Cormier would never fight at light heavyweight again after winning the heavyweight title since the cut is so difficult for him to make. But Cormier says that he has every intention of holding on to both belts right up until he retires in March.
“It’ll be tough but it’s always tough,” Cormier said. “It’s well-documented how difficult it is for me every time I go to 205. This will be nothing new. The next time I have a light heavyweight fight, I’ll go down there, I’ll make the weight, and I’ll fight. . . I do want to keep this belt. I don’t want to have to give it up because the UFC doesn’t believe I can make the weight. I can make the weight.”
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