Daniel Cormier is bummed out that the UFC title fight with Brock Lesnar never materialized.
Cormier was on a collision course with Lesnar after claiming the heavyweight title with a knockout of Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 in July 2018. The pair faced off in the octagon where Lesnar shoved Cormier, and UFC CEO Dana White assured the promotion planned on making that fight next.
However, Cormier never ended up getting the fight after Lesnar returned to professional wrestling. Instead, he ended up defending his belt against Derrick Lewis next, submitting him in the second round of the UFC 230 headliner.
“The WWE got him. The WWE took him back,” Cormier of Lesnar on “Club Shay Shay.” “That was my golden goose, man. We had that moment in the ring. I pushed him, he pushed me. WWE paid him back. They they were paying Brock like $6 (million) to $7 million a year. Maybe $10 (million). You’re telling me, ‘Brock, you can go fight DC and lose, or you can come back (to WWE).’ … It was one of the safest fights I could’ve had. It’s just the truth.
“I like Brock, too. He’s a great guy. But I watched what Cain (Velasquez) did to him. I watched how he would react to getting punched, and I was going to punch him. He would have to take me down to win the fight, and I can wrestle. If he shoots on me, I’m going to make it so hard for him to get that takedown that by the time he gets it, he’s exhausted. Now I’m up to my feet, then you’re done. That’s what happened with Cain. He took Cain down. Cain got up, started kneeing him in his face. I saw Brock recently, he still has that scar under his eye from when Cain kneed him in the face. Yup: Still got that big scar under his eye.”
After finishing Lewis, Cormier lost his heavyweight title to Miocic at UFC 241, then lost their trilogy bout at UFC 252, before opting to hang up his gloves in 2020.
