While Stipe Miocic has a huge title fight with UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier next month at UFC 226 only July 7 in Las Vegas, a bigger superfight may be on the horizon for the UFC heavyweight king.
Reports have surfaced stating that former UFC heavyweight champion and current WWE superstar Brock Lesnar may show up at UFC 226 and eventually get the first crack at the winner of Miocic vs. Cormier. While fight fans may scoff at the idea of Lesnar stepping back into the promotional limelight and securing an instant title shot, UFC needs to produce big pay-per-view (PPV) numbers and this would be a good way to do just that.
If Miocic is able to get past “DC” at UFC 226 he would essentially line himself up for the biggest payday of his career in a bout with Lesnar. But money isn’t everything for the UFC champion and Miocic isn’t entirely sold on fighting Lesnar immediately after his tilt with Cormier.
“Honestly, I heard about that too, they’ve talked about it before at that press conference,” Miocic said about the Lesnar rumors in a recent interview with Submission Radio (shown above). “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.”
“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.”
Miocic, 35, is coming off a unanimous decision win over knockout sensation Francis Ngannou back at UFC 220 in which he broke the UFC heavyweight record for most consecutive title defenses (3). He has won six in a row, including five knockouts and four post-fight bonuses, and remains the most dangerous man on the planet.
That said, Miocic wouldn’t necessarily overlook Lesnar if the two ever did come together inside of the cage. Despite fighting just once since 2011 — a decision win over Mark Hunt at UFC 200 that was later overturned to a no contest due to a failed drug test — Lesnar is a very dangerous opponent for any heavyweight in the world, the champion included.
“Everyone’s tough, it doesn’t matter,” Miocic said. “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.”
Only time will tell how this heavyweight title picture plays out. Even if Miocic ends up relinquishing his belt to “DC” at UFC 226 fight fans could still get a Cormier vs. Lesnar matchup later this year.