Former UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier announced his retirement from MMA following his UFC 252 title fight against Stipe Miocic in mid-August. Cormier has been a vocal fan of the WWE in the past and has stated publicly that he’d like to work with the promotion in some form or fashion once his MMA career ended. In a new interview with Sports Illustrated this week, Cormier confirmed those conversations have already started.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“We’ve been talking,” Cormier told. “We’ve spoken to some of the people over there in very, very early conversations. WWE is a company I’ve watched and loved my entire life.”
Rather than jumping in as an in-ring competitor, Cormier pitched the idea to start as a commentator first.
“Put me at the commentary table,” Cormier said. “Let me call the matches for six months and tell you how great these wrestlers are in the ring. I would love that, and I wouldn’t be faking it. WWE is something I’ve loved my entire life.”
“Then, after those six months, what if I’m sitting next to Michael Cole, and Roman comes over and smacks the microphone out of my hand?” he continued. “But I’m an announcer. Will I hit him back? Then you’re asking if this will happen or not. That’s what I want, that slow build, the type of story you want to see, and your heart feels like it’s going to explode while you’re waiting for it. Give me the slow build, let it simmer.”
WWE has seen its fair share of MMA stars succeed inside the square circle in recent years, including Brock Lesnar (who won the UFC Heavyweight Championship in-between his WWE stints), Ronda Rousey, Shayna Baszler and Matt Riddle.
WWE’s next pay-per-view, Clash of Champions, will take place on Sept. 27. Check out the full card (so far) below:
- WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton (Ambulance Match)
- WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso
- SmackDown Women’s Championship: Bayley vs. Nikki Cross
- WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax vs. Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan
