Daniel Cormier Reveals Next Move After UFC 230
Two-division champ Daniel Cormier made history when he submitted Derrick Lewis in the main event of last night’s (Sat., November 3, 2018) UFC 230 (watch highlights) from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Now it’s time Cormier reveals his next move.
‘DC’ became the first UFC two-division champ to ever defend both of his titles in each weight class. Since the minute after he knocked out Stipe Miocic to win the heavyweight title this summer, the thought has been that he will fight Brock Lesnar. But those plans appear to have taken a detour, at least for now, when Cormier fought ‘The Black Beast’ on short notice.
There are now many options for Cormier. A trilogy fight with longtime archrival Jon Jones seems like a great option. But ‘Bones’ claimed he won’t grant ‘DC’ a rematch during his return at the UFC 232 press conference last week. That may or may not be true. Cormier has not ruled out the possibility of moving back down to 205 pounds.
So Cormier’s future is unknown, but it’s looking bright.
Speaking with Michael Bisping and Karyn Bryant on the FOX Sports 1 post-fight show, Cormier discussed his immediate plans. ‘The Count’ asked him if he would fight the next heavyweight in line were WWE champ Lesnar not available. To that, ‘DC’ had the following response:
“Um, of course I’d fight the next guy. If Lesnar isn’t going to fight, I’d fight Miocic again. If tjey offer me the fight with Jones at 205, I’d go back to 205 and fight Jones. That’s just, those are my plans. I haven’t really thought too much into the future because the future has just been Brock Lesnar since July.”
Cormier touched on his brief detour to face Lewis, calling it a ‘pivot.’ Because of that, Cormier said he would go back to his original plan to face Lesnar:
“This was a pivot. Me getting ready for a fight on three weeks’ notice was a pivot. And I pivoted to fight Derrick Lewis. Now I’m just kinda going back to the original plan, and that’s the plan to fight Brock Lesnar.”
Cormier has been linked to a bout with the pro-wrestler-turned-former UFC champ when Lesnar is eligible to return from his USADA suspension next January. But ‘DC’ doesn’t want the fight too early in the year because it interferes with his high school wrestling season:
“But I can’t do it too early in the year, because I’ll be right in the middle of high school season and I don’t want to miss any tournaments.”
