Daniel Cormier and WWE’s Brock Lesnar have a unique shared history. While the two never faced each other inside the Octagon during their respective MMA careers, a fight between the two for the UFC Heavyweight Championship nearly happened a few years ago. Cormier won the title in July 2018 at UFC 226, then called for Lesnar to meet him inside the cage. The two had a stand-off and all signs pointed to a fight eventually happening, but nothing ever materialized. “The Beast” hasn’t fought since UFC 200 in July 2016, while Cormier retired after back-to-back losses against Stipe Miocic in 2019-20.ย
The former champ has since pivoted to a color commentary and analyst role for the UFC and ESPN. He said in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated that he intends to be at WrestleMania 39 next month and even joked about a confrontation with Lesnar.ย
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“If Brock steps in my way?” Cormier said. “I’ll smack him upside his head.”
Could Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Cormier Happen in WWE?
Cormier was asked about clashing with Lesnar last year inside the squared circleย while promoting his appearance at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view. While the 43-year-old wrestling fan still hasn’t wrestled a match, he didn’t rule out the idea.ย
“I’ve not heard anything,” Cormier told ESPN at the time. “That’s the thing, right? When something like this happens, and this was, honestly, very good for me because people started to talk. People started talking about, ‘Oh my goodness, I remember when him and Brock were in the octagon and they were supposed to fight.’ So, it seems to make a lot of sense. But as you know, just because something makes sense see, it doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen. So, no, there is no talk of me fighting Brock Lesnar.”
“We laid the foundation, but we did not get the payoff,” he later added regarding the MMA fight that never happened. “It was a slow build. The build was far too slow. Yeah. It was like a year build with no WrestleMania match,”
WWE WrestleMania 39 Card (As of Now)
- Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes
- SmackDown Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley
- Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair vs. Asuka
- Brock Lesnar vs. Omos
- Intercontinental Championship: Gunther vs. TBD