Daniel Cormier is finished facing cheaters.
The new two-division UFC champion appears to be on a collision course with current WWE superstar and former heavyweight king Brock Lesnar in a mega-fight that will likely take place later this year or in early 2019.
Lesnar is confirmed to return to the UFC after making quite an appearance on Saturday night after entering the Octagon and shoving Cormier just seconds after he captured the heavyweight crown with a first round knockout against Stipe Miocic.
Before he can fight again, however, Lesnar has to serve the remainder of a one-year suspension he received after testing positive for Clomiphene — a banned performance enhancing substance — following his last fight at UFC 200 in 2016.
The remaining sentence also coincides with a six-month testing period Lesnar is required to undergo before being allowed to fight in the UFC again per rules set up with the promotion’s anti-doping policy through USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency).
Obviously Lesnar has to stay clean or he would face further sanctions from USADA but Cormier says he wants the anti-doping agency to go above and beyond because he refuses to face an opponent using performance enhancing drugs.
“Brock’s gotta be clean. I’m not going to fight him if he’s not clean,” Cormier said on Saturday night following his win at UFC 226. “We’ll do USADA testing and we’ll do other testing. We’ll do testing above USADA to make sure this man’s clean cause I’m not going to fight him if he’s cheating.
“I’ve done that on a number of occasions already. I don’t want to fight him if he’s dirty. Do it the right way.”
Cormier has past experience facing an opponent who was later busted by USADA — most notably his 2017 knockout loss to former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
The result of the fight was later overturned after Jones tested positive for steroids and he remains on provisional suspension pending a hearing with USADA over a second violation of the UFC’s anti-doping policy. Jones was previously suspended for one year over a different failed drug test in 2016.
Cormier is adamant that the wants to face Lesnar but only if the hulking former heavyweight champion is clean and free from performance enhancing drugs. Lesnar has already re-entered the testing pool with USADA and he’ll need to complete six months as a clean athlete before being allowed to fight again.
