Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar, had some tough decisions to make as he rang in the new year. He could either make his return to mixed martial arts (MMA) and get punched in the face by Daniel Cormier, or re-sign with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and pretend to get punched in the face by Seth Rollins.
While UFC President Dana White claims the promotion’s new deal with ESPN+ had nothing to do with Lesnar’s decision to renege on this commitment, it still came down to how much money was being offered from both sides, and one (UFC) was likely used to help negotiate for the other (WWE).
Smart, but disappointing.
“Honestly, I just think the WWE gave him such a great deal,” Cormier told TMZ Sports. “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.”
It sounds like Stipe Miocic made some smart decisions of his own. The former heavyweight champion was stopped by Cormier last summer and instead of risking his spot in line against another contending heavyweight, decided to ride the pine until he could secure an immediate rematch, booked for Aug. 17 in Anaheim.
Making the UFC 226 “shit show” a complete waste of time.
“I was disappointed, 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.”
Can’t say we didn’t warn you.