Former two-division UFC Champion Daniel Cormier has revealed the reason his fight with Brock Lesnar never materialized, stating that a lucrative offer from WWE ultimately kept “The Beast Incarnate” out of the octagon.
Speaking with Shannon Sharpe on the Club Shay Shay podcast, Cormier discussed the infamous confrontation he had with Lesnar inside the octagon at UFC 226 after he had won the UFC Heavyweight Championship. He explained that WWE’s financial offer was too good for Lesnar to pass up.
“The WWE got him. The WWE took him back. That was my golden goose,” Cormier said. “We had that moment in the ring. I pushed him, he pushed me. WWE paid him back. They were paying Brock like $6-7 million a year. Maybe $10 (million). You’re telling me, ‘Brock, you can go fight DC and lose.’”
Cormier was strong in his belief that he would have defeated Lesnar, citing Lesnar’s previous loss to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 as a blueprint for his own success.
“I’m beating Brock Lesnar. I was beating Brock. It was one of the safest fights I could have had. It’s just the truth,” Cormier stated. “I like Brock. He’s a great guy, but I watched what Cain did to him. I watched how he would react to getting punched. I was going to punch him. He would have to take me down to win the fight. I can wrestle… That’s what happened with Cain. He took Cain down. Cain got up and started kneeing him in his face. I saw Brock recently. He still has that scar under his eye from when Cain kneed him in the face. Still has that big scar.”
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