Daniel Cormier concurs with Dana White’s recent statements about not returning to MMA.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar decided to not return to MMA. It was the right decision according to UFC president Dana White, stating that the WWE star wasn’t 100 percent invested in getting back to fighting.
Current champion Daniel Cormier agrees with White’s statements, but for a slightly different reason.
“Honestly, I just think the WWE gave him such a great deal,” Cormier told TMZ Sports recently (transcript by MMA News). “Like, they really always take care of this guy.
“And ultimately, you get paid that much money to go and wrestle as opposed to fighting me… there’s no predetermined outcome there. I’m gonna try to kick your ass. So I think he made the smart decision.”
Cormier began to make noise about the Lesnar fight since he won the heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 in July of last year. Now that the fight is officially off, “DC” admits it does disappoint him a little bit.
“I wanted to fight Brock. I’ve known Brock for a long time,” Cormier said. “I’ve competed with Brock for a long time in wrestling, and I’ve always been a fan of his. And then we had that great moment out in UFC 226, so the build was gonna be fun. But you know, you can only really worry about things that you can control, and I can’t control that he doesn’t want to fight anymore. He’s done.
“I know the UFC and Brock tried to make this happen. It just didn’t. So I appreciate all parties involved trying to get it done. But it just didn’t work, man.”
Cormier will instead defend his title in a rematch against Miocic at UFC 241 on August 17th in Anaheim. The 40-year-old champion says it will likely be his final Octagon appearance.