Daniel Cormier was patiently waiting to fight Brock Lesnar, staving off retirement and a rematch with Stipe Miocic until he cashed a big money fight against Brock Lesnar. But as they say, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. In an interview with TMZ, Daniel Cormier described his initial reaction to news of the fight falling through as well as his present-day thoughts on the matter:
“I was disappointed,” Cormier admitted. “I wanted to fight Brock. I’ve known Brock for a long time. 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.”
Initial reports on why Lesnar opted not to return to the UFC held that Lesnar wanted a guaranteed flat fee to fight Daniel Cormier due to the promotion’s new exclusive pay per view deal with ESPN+, a deal that still holds a high degree of uncertainty as to how successful it will be in terms of buys and thus also in terms of bonuses for headliners. Dana White would later refute these reports, stating that the WWE simply gave Brock Lesnar an offer he couldn’t refuse. Daniel Cormier is just as much in the dark to the full truth as the rest of us:
“I don’t know exactly what it was,” Cormier said. “Honestly, I just think the WWE gave him such a great deal. 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.”
Do you agree with Daniel Cormier? Did Brock Lesnar make the smart decision to re-sign with the WWE and not fight him?
