Daniel Cormier: Brock Lesnar ‘Will Be the Last Fight of My Career’
Daniel Cormier has a deadline and he’s sticking to it.
The ‘double champ’ as he is now called after winning both the UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight titles simultaneously has said numerous times that he plans on retiring in March 2019 as he approaches his 40th birthday.
While it’s not uncommon for athletes from any sport to retire and then change their minds sometimes days or weeks later, Cormier is steadfast in his decision because it’s a promise he made to his wife and children.
The timing of Cormier’s retirement also means that his upcoming fight against former UFC champion and current WWE superstar Brock Lesnar will all but certainly be the final bout of his historic career.
“He’ll be the last one. He’ll be the last fight of my career,” Cormier said about Lesnar. “Will he be next? I don’t know. I hope so but I’ve still got a belt to defend at 205 [pounds] to think about.”
In a perfect world, Cormier could fight Lesnar later this year and still get in one more fight before his deadline but it’s going to have to work in reverse if he’s going to have two more bouts before calling it a career.
Lesnar is currently serving out the remainder of a one year suspension issued by USADA after he failed a drug test surrounding his last fight at UFC 200 in 2016. Because Lesnar retired after he was suspended, the hulking heavyweight dropped out of the drug testing pool as he returned to his career in WWE.
Lesnar returned to the testing pool on July 3 but he still has to serve out the rest of that sentence, which means he won’t be eligible to fight again until after Jan. 8, 2019.
As far as Cormier potentially defending one of his titles before meeting Lesnar, he says it’s definitely a possibility but nothing is set in stone yet.
Cormier has said he would drop back down to 205 pounds to defend his belt if a true No. 1 contender emerges — Cormier even mentioned the possibility of facing Mauricio “Shogun” Rua should he get past Anthony Smith in the main event at UFC Fight Night in Germany this upcoming Sunday.
Of course, Cormier mentioning “Shogun” might also be a back handed comment aimed at former opponent Alexander Gustafsson, who has been rather vocal about earning a rematch with the reigning light heavyweight champion after he lost to him by split decision nearly three years ago.
“I’ll let you guys figure that one out,” Cormier said with a laugh when asked if he was trolling Gustafsson by asking for “Shogun”.
No matter who ends up being the opponent, Cormier promises that he’d be excited for the challenge even if that meant waiting a little longer for the fight against Lesnar.
“It’s going to be difficult but as a professional, you have to approach every fight the same exact way,” Cormier said about being excited to face a light heavyweight contender first before fighting Lesnar. “I would prepare myself to win and to defend the title. Any time you’re in a UFC title fight it’s a big deal and for anybody to say they didn’t up for it is crazy.
“You’re a professional. You’re a fighter. You have to get up for these events.”
