Stipe Miocic talks about the possibility of defending his UFC heavyweight title against Brock Lesnar.
The word on the street is that WWE superstar Brock Lesnar is gearing up for a surprise return to the UFC.
It’s been teased that Lesnar, the former UFC heavyweight champion, could take on the winner of the upcoming heavyweight superfight between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier at UFC 226.
But current champ Miocic, the No. 2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world, hasn’t given much thought to the idea of a fight with Lesnar and is currently focused on defending his heavyweight title against Cormier, the reigning light heavyweight title holder.
“Honestly, I heard about that too, they’ve talked about it before at that press conference,” Miocic said about a possible fight with Lesnar in a recent interview with Submission Radio (h/t Drake Riggs of BJPenn.com). “Like I said, all I care about it July 7th, it’s all I’ve got my mind on, and after that, I’ll worry about it afterward. Then I’ll worry about my daughter being born.”
With that said, provided he does get past ‘DC’ at UFC 226, the part-time firefighter is open to a title with Lesnar – just not ‘right away’.
“No, probably not, [I wouldn’t fight Brock] right now. I’d do it, but not right away,” Miocic continued. “I plan on [taking a break after my daughter is born]. I mean, it’s the plan. I gotta enjoy my daughter.”
Lesnar, who is currently signed with WWE, hasn’t fought since his decision win over Mark Hunt in 2016 (later overturned to a No Contest after Lesnar tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs), but Miocic certainly wouldn’t underestimate the 40-year-old mega-athlete.
“Everyone’s tough, it doesn’t matter. Everyone can win on any given night. It’s the fight game. Honestly, like I said, I don’t really care what’s happening outside of it right now, my focus is on July 7th. Good for Brock, good for Curtis [Blaydes], I wish nothing but the best for them, but right now all I care about is DC, July 7th.”
Right now, however, Lesnar is the last thing on Miocic’s mind. The Ohio native is currently making final preparations for his title fight with Cormier, who he will take on next month, July 7 in a highly anticipated headlining bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.