Daniel Cormier discusses potential fights with Brock Lesnar, Cain Velasquez

On July 7, in the main event of UFC 226, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will return to the heavyweight division to battle reigning champion Stipe Miocic. If Cormier is successful in this momentous showdown, he’ll become the UFC heavyweight champion, which will of course open the door to more massive opportunities in the division.

Of those opportunities, its arguable that none would be bigger than a showdown with former UFC heavyweight champ and current WWE star Brock Lesnar—something UFC President Dana White has recently alluded to.

Unsurprisingly, this a fight that interests Cormier very much.

“That [Lesnar fight] never happens unless I get past Stipe, but just hearing [White mention it] out loud was like, oh my goodness,” Cormier said during a recent media scrum (via MMAFighting). “Hey, I know that when I fight Jon Jones, I make a lot of money. I know that if I was to ever fight a Brock Lesnar, I’m going to make even more money than I’ve ever made in entire life. And ultimately, championships and money is why we do this. I don’t care for all the other stuff. I want to get paid. I’m almost 40, the door’s about to close on me, so why not ride out into the sunset with a massive payday? Truckloads of money. Back up Brinks truck to Gilroy, California if you fight Brock Lesnar, I’m telling you.

“[Lesnar] told me last time [we were on the same card], right? When that thing broke that he was fighting at UFC 200, I said, ‘Big Brock, is it Christmas morning in the Cormier household?’ He goes, ‘Merry Christmas, DC. You’re welcome.’ That’s what he told me. He knows that the money’s coming. When he’s on your card or if you’re fighting against him, he knows that you’re getting paid.”

If Cormier becomes the UFC heavyweight champion, it’s also possible that he’ll cross paths with his long-time friend and training partner Cain Velasquez. If such a thing were to occur, Cormier says he’d return to the light heavyweight division to clear the way for Velasquez.

“I’m going to go back [down],” Cormier said. “There are fights down there for me, and I would hope that Cain would come back and fight at heavyweight and become the champ again.

“I would [step aside] again. Again. I would do it again, as I did the first time. … I’m not fighting Cain Velasquez. I would never, ever fight Cain Velasquez. Nope, nope, I would never do it. So yeah, if it meant giving up the belt, that’s what I would do.”

Do you think Daniel Cormier will capture heavyweight gold at UFC 226?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/16/2018.