Daniel Cormier’s grand scheme of fighting Brock Lesnar and then retiring before his 40th birthday might not come to fruition after all.
After “DC” submitted Derrick Lewis to retain his heavyweight title in the UFC 230 headliner on Nov. 3, he targeted UFC 235 on March 2 for his potentially lucrative showdown with Lesnar. However, while Lesnar initially entered the Octagon to challenge Cormier after the American Kickboxing Academy standout claimed heavyweight gold at UFC 226 in July, there are no still no guarantees the World Wrestling Entertainment star returns to the Octagon for a third promotional stint.
Speaking recently with TMZ Sports, UFC President Dana White wasn’t sure if Lesnar would be on the agenda or if the proposed matchup would indeed be Cormier’s last fight.
“I don’t know. We don’t know that either yet,” White said. “Cormier’s got a couple left in him.”
According to White, those close to Cormier wouldn’t mind seeing the two-division champion ride off into the sunset now. The UFC boss envisions a more ambitious itinerary for “DC.”
“I would obviously like to see [Jon] Jones and Cormier fight again at heavyweight,” White said. “Right now Cormier’s team wants him to retire now. They want him to retire right now. I hope we can get three more fights out of him.”
Cormier will be officially stripped of the light heavyweight crown when Jones squares off with Alexander Gustafsson in the main event of UFC 232 on Dec. 29. The rivalry between Cormier and “Bones” is well-documented, and the Jackson-Wink MMA staple remains the only man to defeat him in MMA competition. Jones took a five-round decision over Cormier at UFC 182 in January 2015 and stopped “DC” in the third round in their July 2017 rematch at UFC 214. However, the result of their second meeting was overturned to a no contest when Jones tested positive for the anabolic steroid Turinabol in relation to the bout.
While Cormier has said that he doesn’t need a third fight with Jones because he feels like he has “nothing to prove” in his career, he said he would fight Jones again if his rival was victorious at UFC 232 and the Lesnar bout didn’t materialize.