Daniel Cormier vs. Brock Lesnar Reportedly in the Works
Brock Lesnar is reportedly in talks to return to the UFC, with a shot at Daniel Cormier’s heavyweight title and some sportsbooks are already offering betting odds for this fight.
On July 7, 2018, the end of UFC 226 looked like an episode of WWE’s Monday Night Raw or SmackDown LIVE when former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar interrupted Daniel Cormier’s victory celebration because of his KO win over Stipe Miocic to take the belt.
Cormier just won the belt after knocking out Miocic with a short right hand and when he was talking to Joe Rogan, he challenged Lesnar (who was in attendance) to step into the Octagon, telling him, “Brock Lesnar get your ass in here!”
Lesnar was more than happy to join him and he immediately shoved Cormier, who screamed: “Touch me now, you go to sleep later.” Then Brock Lesnar was interviewed and he said that Francis Ngannou and Stipe Miocic are “a piece of s***” and told Cormier ” DC, I’m coming for you motherf*****!” UFC President Dana White later confirmed that Cormier vs. Lesnar is on by saying “We’re definitely going to make that fight.”
Now, over eight months later, a report from ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, (a connected MMA insider), on a recent episode of SportsCenter stated that the UFC wants to make the monster clash between Brock Lesnar and current heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier happen.
There’s no date or location for UFC 240 yet but it seems that this event would be the most likely pay-per-view in which Cormier can have his next title defense.
Brock Lesnar, a former UFC heavyweight champion, hasn’t competed in the octagon since UFC 200 in July 2016, when he claimed a unanimous decision over Mark Hunt; however, that result was overturned after Lesnar tested positive for a banned substance.
Since then, Cormier defended, lost and regained the UFC light heavyweight title before returning to heavyweight last year and knocking out Stipe Miocic to win the belt. Cormier then successfully defended the title against Derrick Lewis at UFC 230 on November 3.
‘DC’ originally intended to retire before turning 40 on March 4 but UFC President Dana White persuaded him to stay with the company longer.
Intriguing fights such as a rematch against Stipe Miocic and a third fight with Jon Jones remain a possibility, Cormier prefers to take on Lesnar in what should be Cormier’s biggest payday to date.
Don’t forget that Lesnar was a massive draw for the UFC while rising to the top of the heavyweight division, as he’s credited with two of the most successful pay-per-views in the history of the organization, UFC 116 and UFC 100.
Rumors of Lesnar returning to the UFC have been going on for a long, long time and they usually feel like nothing more than leverage to get the WWE to pay him more, as most of the time the news of him getting ready to a potential UFC return come out when his WWE contract is about to expire.
Lesnar did fight Hunt while under contract with WWE so anything is possible and this time it does feel different, as UFC needs major boosts in interest after it was revealed that their top star, Conor McGregor, will retire.
It remains to be seen if McGregor will indeed leave for good but the UFC is lacking star power and with Lesnar just losing his WWE
Universal Championship against Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 35 last Sunday, him finally challenging Daniel Cormier is more than likely, as he could leave WWE and resume his UFC career or just take a hiatus to prepare for Cormier and come back to the WWE one day.
Lesnar is apparently eager to challenge himself with another UFC fight but can he beat Cormier? For now, we can just wait for this bout to be confirmed but if it finally happens it will be an epic showdown for sure.
