https://youtu.be/2QHcb6n-dNQ
Ahead of his highly-anticipated rematch against Jon Jones, which takes place in the main event of the upcoming landmark UFC 200 event in July, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier appeared on HOT 97 with Peter Rosenberg.
In addition to the mandatory explanation of his storied history with “Bones” Jones leading up to their rematch next month, D.C. also spoke about some of the other fights on the stacked UFC 200 card that interest him.
“I’m excited [that] Brock Lesnar is coming back to the UFC, but this card is so deep, to start the pay-per-view, the very first fight …Cain Velasquez is back and he’s fighting Travis Browne. That’s the fight that I want to see,” Cormier said of the bout pitting his AKA teammate Velasquez against “Hapa” Browne.
After running down some of the other fights scheduled for UFC 200, the discussion shifted to the tragic Orlando shootings over the weekend. DJ Peter Rosenberg brought up Cormier’s past, and the two spoke about Cormier’s father being murdered by his father-in-law on Thanksgiving when he was only eight years old. He also spoke about the tragic loss of his daughter several years ago.
From there, the conversation switched to some more talk of Brock Lesnar’s upcoming UFC return, as well as some general pro wrestling discussion, as both Rosenberg and D.C. admitted they were life-long fans of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
Cormier, who told a story on Ariel Helwani’s “The MMA Hour” podcast at MMAFighting.com on Monday about how Lesnar texted him back after the spot aired during the UFC 199 pay-per-view that announced his upcoming UFC return, elaborated on the financial side of Lesnar joining the UFC 200 fight card.
As D.C. explained, he texted Lesnar upon hearing about the news, before the UFC made it official, thanking him and explaining to him that he’s aware of how much money he’s going to make as champion with Lesnar joining the card.
For those unaware, UFC champions have a clause in their contract that guarantees them a certain amount of profit participation in the back-end of the pay-per-view events they fight on. Cormier joked more with Rosenberg about how much money he’s going to make as a result of Lesnar being added to a card he will be headlining, noting his “wallet keeps trying to jump out of his pocket” because of all of the money he is about to make.
Regarding the talk of WWE and UFC, Cormier made it clear that Lesnar is perhaps the only guy in WWE who can really fight at the top level in MMA. He went on to tell a story he recently heard where someone claimed the UFC was trying to sign WWE Superstar Kevin Owens.
“Brock Lesnar is the only guy that’s over there [WWE] that can do that,” said Cormier of Lesnar’s ability to crossover from pro wrestling to MMA fighting. “You know, I saw something the other day where a guy was telling a story about Kevin Owens [and] said, ”the UFC has been trying to sign him,'” Cormier said with a smile.
“No, the UFC has not been trying to sign you because you can not fight,” Cormier continued. “It’s a different world. [I’m a] big fan of Kevin Owens, but it’s a different world.”
Finally, Cormier, who also serves as a fight analyst for FOX Sports 1, gave his expert opinion regarding the style breakdown in the Lesnar vs. Mark Hunt fight at UFC 200. According to Cormier, if Lesnar doesn’t get a takedown, he will “look as lost as he did against Alistair Overeem.”
UFC 200: Cormier vs. Jones 2 is scheduled for Saturday, July 9, 2016 from the brand new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Join us here at MMANews.com on 7/9 for live coverage of the UFC 200 pay-per-view!