Daniel Cormier down to make 'truckloads of money' with Brock Lesnar, but won't postpone retirement

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Daniel Cormier is giddy about the prospect of fighting Brock Lesnar sometime in the future, but admits it’s primarily because of what it would do to the health of his bank account.

UFC light heavyweight champ Cormier (20-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) is nothing but honest when he speaks about his career and his future. He’s aware of the financial upside a matchup with Lesnar (5-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) brings, and UFC President Dana White recently said the former heavyweight champ could get a title shot against the winner of the UFC 226 main event between Cormier and Stipe Miocic (18-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC).

Cormier said he never honestly thought Lesnar, who is eventually expected to return to the UFC for another run, was a realistic opponent option for himself. But now that White has put it out in the public space, he’s enthusiastic about the idea. That said, Cormier knows there’s no possibility of a Lesnar fight if he doesn’t get past Miocic first.

“That thing never happens unless I get past Stipe, but just hearing it out loud was like, ‘Oh my goodness,'” Cormier told MMAjunkie. “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 made in my 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 is about to close on me so why not ride out into the sunset with a massive payday. Truckloads of money. Back up the bridge truck to Gilroy, California, if you fight Brock Lesnar.

“He told me last time. 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 is coming when he’s on your card, or you’re fighting against him, people are getting paid.”

UFC 226 takes place July 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass, though the bout order isn’t finalized.

Aside from actually beating Miocic to become both UFC heavyweight and light-heavyweight champion, the biggest barricade for a Cormier vs. Lesnar fight comes down to timing. Cormier has set a hard out for retirement on his 40th birthday, which takes place March 20.

Before Lesnar can step in the octagon to compete, he must return to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) testing pool and serve the more than six months remaining on his suspension stemming from failed drug tests around his UFC 200 bout in July 2016.

If Lesnar returns to the testing pool in the near future than there should be more than enough time to make the hypothetical matchup with “DC.” But if the timing doesn’t work out that way, Cormier said it won’t persuade him to push back his hard retirement-date deadline.

“No (I won’t postpone retirement), I’m done,” Cormier said. “Curtain’s coming down. When I’m 40, I’m done. I know it’s hard to think that. I’m still fighting on a high level. I feel good. I feel like I can train and fight for a long time, but there’s no need to. You’ve got to preserve what you accomplish, and I think that now some of my friends, and my best friends, are fighting in spots that we could have never imagined we could see them in. And I don’t like that. I don’t want to be that. I don’t want to be fighting. I’ve fought in only main events and co-main events my entire UFC career. I don’t want to have to go to fighting on the prelims or stuff like that. I like the big spot. I’ve been in some of the biggest fights in the UFC.”

Cormier has taken part in athletics for the entirety of his adult life. He said he’s satisfied with the decision to hang up his gloves, but intends on doing everything in his power to make his final days in the sport as special as possible. Beating Miocic and Lesnar would certainly help that purpose.

“Ultimately I’m a competitor and I’m about accomplishments, achievements and being remembered,” Cormier said. “The curtain’s coming down on me. So all of this and all the stuff that I do, all the time, that’s all going to be gone. All that are going to be left are the memories of what I did. If I can accomplish this on July 7, then those memories will last for a very long time.”

For more on UFC 226, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.