Daniel Cormier

Former UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier got his first taste of pro wrestling last weekend, and it sounds like he's open to a marquee match inside the squared circle down the line.

Cormier appeared at Saturday's WWE Extreme Rules premium live event as the special guest referee for the Fight Pit match between Seth Rollins and Matt Riddle. He even got physical with Rollins at one point in the match, and he's open for more.

The 43-year-old told Dan Gelston of the Associated Press that he would be interested in a match against WWE Superstar and fellow former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. Cormier noted that he would need some time before he feels ready to step inside the ring.

"I’ve been retired for a couple of years and I look like it. But I’d have to get in shape if I ever want to do something like that," Cormier said. "The door is not closed on anything right now in my life."

Cormier and Lesnar had a notable run-in at UFC 226 in July 2018 after Cormier defeated Stipe Miocic in the main event to become a double champion and the first fighter to hold the UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight titles simultaneously. Cormier invited Lesnar, a former UFC heavyweight champion, into the Octagon during his post-fight speech, and they had a brief back and forth that included some shoving.

Cormier is a lifelong wrestling fan, so stepping in the ring would be a dream come true for him. He doesn't have any future commitments with WWE after Extreme Rules. While he is open for more, the UFC commentator noted there's a small window for him to compete physically.

"I’m still at an age where there are some opportunities, but those opportunities need to start now if they’re going to be something I pursue," he said.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

Daniel Cormier's upcoming WWE appearance may not be just a one-off.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio reported Cormier has been suggested as a potential opponent for Brock Lesnar.

"There’s people who are speculating maybe he and Brock do their match," Meltzer said. "I don’t know. I think if he wants to do pro-wrestling at this stage of his life, and my gut is that … I don’t know. I don’t think he wants to. I haven’t talked to him about this in so long, years.

"Daniel will never go full-time, I’m sure he will never do full-time WWE wrestling, but would he do a match at WrestleMania? I could see it. Would he do it with Lesnar? I could see it. He’s a big wrestling fan, he might wanna do it."

Cormier and Lesnar got into a heated confrontation at UFC 226, leading to speculation the two could fight in the Octagon. That bout never got particularly close to happening, and their simmering rivalry was largely forgotten as Lesnar continued his WWE career while Cormier continued to establish himself as a commentator in UFC.

Their worlds will (somewhat) collide this weekend at Extreme Rules, with Cormier set to serve as the special guest referee for the Fight Pit match between Seth Rollins and Matt Riddle. Cormier's surprise appearance set off rumors he could eventually make his in-ring debut, with Lesnar being the most obvious high-level opponent.

WWE could do the match as soon as Crown Jewel in November. The Saudi shows regularly feature high-profile names from outside the wrestling world. Logan Paul is set to take on Roman Reigns for the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship at the event, and the likes of Tyson Fury and Cain Velasquez have previously made appearances.

WWE has done only one Saudi show that did not feature a Lesnar match, so it would be a bit of a surprise to not see him show up—regardless of whether Cormier is his opponent.

If they go in a different direction for Saudi, Lesnar vs. Cormier would be a spectacle fitting of the WrestleMania stage.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

Former UFC star Daniel Cormier will be the special referee for Seth Rollins and Riddle's match at Extreme Rules on Oct. 8.

"The Rollins-Riddle feud has gotten very intense and personal," Cormier said to MMA insider Ariel Helwani. "There's only one person qualified enough to oversee this brutal match at Extreme Rules, and it's me. I'll see you guys in Philly next Saturday."

It's reminiscent of when Ken Shamrock, then one of the UFC's biggest names, was tabbed to officiate Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin's submission match at WrestleMania 13.

Cormier is a fan of WWE as well and has previously been in contact with the company.

The former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion told Sports Illustrated's Justin Barrasso in September 2020 that he had spoken with WWE officials and was interested in a commentary role.

More recently, he said in July that he had been approached about working with the Creed Brothers, who were the NXT tag team champions at the time.

Now, Cormier is finally getting his chance to get involved with WWE.

It was the end of the fourth round. The columns were all half-written, the bets five minutes from cashing. Kamaru Usman was comfortably ahead on the scorecards and cruising to a sixth consecutive defense of his UFC welterweight title. The end was just five minutes of formality, of the continued slow crush of Usman's dominance away.

And no one seemed to know it more than poor Leon Edwards.

"A dejected challenger," observed color commentator Joe Rogan.

"Yeah," agreed fellow broadcaster Daniel Cormier.

The fifth began with the broadcasters predicting Edwards was far behind on the scorecards and that the challenger would need to find a stoppage to win. They talked about moral victories, about the accomplishment of going 25 minutes with maybe the sport's greatest reigning champion.

In the round's opening moments, Din Thomas, another valuable part of the broadcast team, said, "If it wasn't obvious enough, Leon is broken now...he's embarrassed from his own performance."

On further inspection, Edwards did indeed appear to be wearing what we used to call a thousand-yard stare.

But then, there was a cracking sound. And there was Usman, on the mat, looking sightlessly up at the lights.

The champ had just ducked into a perfectly disguised left high kick from Edwards. And there he was, separated from his senses. The cleanest knockout you could ever hope to see. And there was no more roof on the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.

With a mere 56 seconds remaining in the contest, we had a UFC welterweight champion, and his name was Leon Edwards.

"I can't put it into words, Joe," an ecstatic Edwards told Rogan in the cage after the fight. "For years you all doubted me and said I couldn't do it. You all said I couldn't do it. Look at me now! … God is on my side. I've said it all week: this is my moment."

You can't fault those commentators in hindsight; they were speaking for everyone watching. Edwards had the look of a beaten man and Usman had the look of an absolute master of his craft, plying his trade en route to another convincing win. Recalling their observations isn't meant to cast aspersions on this so much as it is to capture the mood in the arena and between the two combatants, which they accurately did.

Until that fateful moment, the first round was easily Edwards' best. Each man exchanged kicks early (kicks were a critical weapon for Edwards in all five rounds) and with Usman plying his bread and butter: takedowns and control time on the mat or along the fence. When Edwards landed a trip takedown, he became the first man to take Usman down in the UFC, ending the champ's perfect 100 percent takedown defense rate.

I'm giving the 1st round to Leon Edwards. That was a nice leg trip by Leon to complete the takedown. He's the first fighter to takedown Kamaru Usman. #UFC278

— ⚜ WHO DAT Cool Breesy ⚜ (@Steve2duhO) August 21, 2022

Likely sensing he may have lost a round, Usman ratcheted up the pressure in Round 2. This was the champ's highest-output striking round, per UFC stats, as he outlanded Edwards 36-20 in significant strikes. Usman repeatedly walked Edwards down against the cage and then chopped at the head and body as Edwards covered up.

The third and fourth unfurled in classic Usman fashion. Whenever Edwards regained his verticality, he was quickly dumped on his backside again or ate an elbow for his troubles. In these two rounds, Usman amassed six minutes and 14 seconds of control time, well over half of the total 10 minutes of combined action.

As confirmed after the fact, the judges all gave Edwards the first and Usman the second, third and fourth, making the last stanza a make-or-break proposition for the challenger. And even though his face was blank and his eyes were glassy, he still appears to have gotten the message.

Usman/Edwards scorecards.
All 3 judges had identical scorecards. 39-37.#UFC278 pic.twitter.com/ppBV2VpF9G

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) August 21, 2022

Usman had taken the drama out of the proceedings. And then, with a minute remaining in the final round, when Edwards threw that straight left hand and convinced Usman to duck into a head kick, he put it all back in and then some.

https://twitter.com/shannonsharpeee/status/1561216007376556032

Yes. Some people will say Edwards was still not the better fighter that night, that a fluky shot is what has him leaving with the gold.

Don’t strut bud. That performance sucked until it didn’t. #UFC278

— Jen (@Jmadams03) August 21, 2022

That's not inaccurate. But it doesn't change the fact that this kind of thing is baked into the sport. It's the special sauce of MMA: so many things can happen.

And for those who saw Edwards shock everybody who was watching, this can't help but be an all-time come-from-behind win. There were plenty of other upsets that happened in the face of longer statistical odds—Edwards was "only" about +260—but this is up there for out-of-nowhere, snatching-victory-from-jaws-of-defeat victories.

Odds on Edwards by KO/TKO in Round 5: +5000 (via @FanDuelCanada)

— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) August 21, 2022

Anderson Silva's Hail Mary triangle choke on Chael Sonnen in 2010 probably rules the genre. The second and third Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard fights were great. Going back to the venerable Pride days, Fedor Emelianenko coming back in 2004 after Kevin Randleman nearly slammed him into unconsciousness is another good one.

There are plenty to choose from, and this fight just joined that rarefied list. This is more fun than marching slowly toward Usman's date with Khamzat Chimaev, assuming the phenom got past beloved but fading Nate Diaz at UFC 279 next month. That day will come, but these delightfully, quintessentially MMA detours are always part of the story.

So forget about Chimaev for now. UFC President Dana White said afterward that he's ready to make the Usman-Edwards rubber match, and to make it in Edwards' native England.

Dana White says he wants to do the Usman/Edwards rematch in England.#UFC278 pic.twitter.com/Tqk8f5ZdgU

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) August 21, 2022

It's good to be the champion, and Edwards has earned his way here. No matter what happens the third time around, Edwards will always have one of the company's most thrilling title wins in history.

Daniel Cormier continues to hold a grudge against Jon Jones nearly five years after their last match against each other.

"I can't let it go. He's a cheater," Cormier said of Jones on The Pivot Podcast (30:14 in video).

Jones defeated Cormier by unanimous decision at UFC 182 in 2015. In the rematch two years later at UFC 214, Jones earned a win by knockout but later tested positive for a banned substance. The bout was changed to a no contest and Jones was stripped of his title.

The two never fought again, and Cormier continues to wonder how he would have fared in a clean fight.

"You did some stuff to my career that never let me settle, because now I don't know," Cormier said (h/t Drake Riggs of MMA Fighting). "I could know through the fights that maybe this dude is just better than me. But I also know that if you're not doing the things that are boosting you, can you really work to the level that I'm working?"

Jones was the only person to defeat Cormier in his first 24 professional bouts until he suffered consecutive losses to Stipe Miocic. Cormier still put together an incredible career that featured UFC titles at two different weight classes and wins over several elite competitors, including Miocic, Anderson Silva and Alexander Gustafsson.

The 43-year-old was inducted to the UFC Hall of Fame this month.

His feud with Jones still leaves a major question mark about his career.

On the night when Charles Oliviera and Justin Gaethje took the ring at UFC 274 in Phoenix, Arizona, it was revealed one of the sport's legends would be inducted into the Hall of Fame. 

Daniel Cormier, who announced his retirement from fighting in August 2020, will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame as part of the 2022 class, according to Sports Illustrated's Justin Barrasso.

Cormier is considered one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. His retirement came at UFC 252 after he lost a UFC heavyweight title trilogy bout to Stipe Miocic by unanimous decision.

"I'm not interested in fighting for anything but titles. I don't imagine there's going to be a title in the future, so that will be it for me," Cormier said at the time. "I've had a long run. It's been great. I just fought my last fight for a heavyweight championship. It was a pretty good fight."

The 43-year-old finished his career with a 22-3-1 record, with two of his three losses coming against Miocic. The third loss and the no-decision come against Jon Jones.

Cormier competed in the light heavyweight division from 2014-18, winning the championship in 2015 and defending the title three times.

Cormier also competed in the heavyweight division from 2009-13 and 2018-20, claiming the title in 2018 by defeating Miocic.

In addition, Cormier was a wrestling star in college at Oklahoma State University and won six straight freestyle wrestling gold medals at the US National Championships from 2003-08.

He was also a two-time Olympian, coming in fourth at the 2004 Games after losing to Khadzhimurat Gatsalov in the semifinals. He was pulled from the 2008 Games due to kidney failure.

Cormier, who now works as a broadcaster for UFC, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside Khabib Nurmagomedov, Ronda Rousey and Georges St-Pierre. The ceremony is set to take place on June 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. 

Welcome back in to the B/R MMA Mailbag. Here's where we answer your questions about all the various MMA issues of the day.

UFC 272 goes down March 5 and is topped by the culmination of one of the most fiery and widely dissected feuds in recent memory. Accomplished welterweights Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington both trained together at American Top Team before a falling-out made them bitter enemies. Both are known for their skills on the mic and in the media, both mainstream and social. And they'll both have a chance at satisfaction when the main event begins in Las Vegas.

The whole thing got us to thinking. What are some of the sport's best rivalries? It could be now, it could be in the past. We asked you, the reader, for your takes, and the responses ran the gamut.

We picked several responses and will grade them here. Submissions may be edited for length or clarity. Ready? Let's get it on.

                      

Chuck vs. Tito

@JeremyGordon

Play word association with any old MMA head and see how they respond to the word "rivalry." I'd be willing to wager that most would bring up Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz as the grudge match of the 2000s and beyond. You can't have this conversation without them. Even ESPN produced a 30 for 30 documentary devoted entirely to the beef between these two champions and Hall of Famers.

Both men were bruising light heavyweights. Liddell stalked down his opponents and finished them with kickboxing and that deadly overhand right, while Ortiz was a master of ground-and-pound, which back then was a fighting style unto itself.

Their personalities could not have been more different. Ortiz, heavily influenced by professional wrestling, was the loudmouth heel. Liddell leaned into his nickname, Iceman, his cool-headed demeanor belying a ferocious killer instinct underneath.

Drama followed the pair wherever they went. Ortiz, who held the light heavyweight title for three years, faced repeated accusations that he was ducking Liddell, taking the fight only after he lost the strap to Randy Couture. That allowed the rivalry to simmer for two years, with suspense building the entire time.

When they finally stepped in the Octagon together, Liddell won by second-round KO, but the result was marred by an eye poke in the fight's closing sequence—a dirty tactic associated with Liddell throughout his career. 

The second contest, held at UFC 66 in 2006, ended with another Liddell knockout. It was Liddell's fourth consecutive defense of the title he won from Couture in 2005.

There was a third fight, but I refuse to seriously acknowledge their pitiful 2018 money grab under Oscar de la Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, which saw a 43-year-old Ortiz knock out a 48-year-old corn husk doll that loosely approximated Liddell.

I could go on, but we'll leave it there. This rivalry between two decorated champions stands out as one of the best, most action-packed, most controversial and most sustained rivalries the sport has ever produced.

Grade: A

                       

Jon Jones-Daniel Cormier will always be the best. They genuinely hated each other and still do.

@blahblahblah9

The hate was indeed real between these two light heavyweights. Witness the anguished tears Cormier couldn't stifle after his second loss to Jones.

The whole thing started as a bit of bravado gone awry and blossomed into full-on mutual hate. It wasn't a shock from the swaggering Jones, but it was a bit jarring to see the affable Cormier spewing invective all over the MMA news cycle. If it was all an act, these two thespians are in the wrong line of work.

To call out just a couple of examples from the full timeline, these two brawled on stage during a media event in 2010 and repeatedly traded pointed and personal barbs on national television.

In the first bout at UFC 182, Jones dominated the action for five rounds, outlanding Cormier 92-58 in significant strikes, per UFC stats, thanks in large part to the massive 12-inch reach advantage then-champion Jones held over the challenger. With his cornermen sporting T-shirts that read "Break Bones," Cormier simply could not get inside to work his wrestling game, eating clinch elbows and uppercuts for his troubles and landing only one of eight takedown attempts.

Their second bout, at UFC 214 in 2017, didn't go much better for Cormier. In fact, it was markedly worse, as he suffered a dizzying knockout in the third round.

But it wouldn't be a Jon Jones fight without a dose of malfeasance. The fight was later overturned to a no-contest after Jones failed a drug test. So it goes.

This one stands out for the sheer enmity and prodigious talent on both sides.

But it loses points for its one-sidedness in the cage.

Still, Jones and Cormier arguably go one-two as the best light heavyweights ever, and their rivalry was a gift to fans.

Grade: A-

                   

Silva vs. Sonnen

@Chico_suave

@vince_flamingo

A little context: In 2010, Anderson Silva was the baddest man on the planet, repeatedly and easily defending his middleweight title and even destroying a few light heavies on the side just for fun. So it was notable when Chael Sonnen, accomplished but still just a 4-3 record in the UFC, raised his hand and essentially talked himself into a title shot.

Did Sonnen's trash talk cross the line at times, particularly his comments on Silva's wife and, you know, the entire nation of Brazil? It arguably did.

But he backed up the talk at UFC 117 when he came within two minutes of shocking the world for Silva's middleweight title. Instead, he famously tapped to a Hail Mary triangle choke that kept Silva from suffering a massive, legacy-altering upset. (Sonnen's subsequent drug test failure and lack of contrition also added to the drama around the bout.)

Their second bout in 2012 ended in a second-round Silva knockout, after Sonnen badly whiffed on a spinning backfist and fell on his backside, after which point Silva made short work of him. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZUMCSCKmpY

So this one had momentum because of Sonnen's talk and a relative balance of action in the cage. If not for some of Sonnen's comments aging so poorly, this might be the best one ever.

Grade: A-

                 

Cody vs. Sugar

@Speakez415

Time for a deep cut. The two fighters in question here are Cody Garbrandt, the former bantamweight champ and current flyweight glass cannon, and "Suga" Sean O'Malley, whose deceptively destructive striking has led to an 8-1 UFC record including a run of three consecutive bonus-winning knockouts.

The rivalry incubated on Twitter—nothing weird there.

Fight me https://t.co/H9kSeTPOzN

— Sean O'Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) December 17, 2020

But it escalated to the point that the two had to be separated at a news conference for UFC 269 last December—even though they were both fighting other opponents.

An intense rivalry to be sure, but sadly a grudge match doesn't appear likely.

First and foremost, Garbrandt would have to return to 135; who knows whether that's a possibility. Second, Garbrandt appears to be a diminished version of his championship-level self, even if he can still crack with the best of them.

Neither of these guys hesitated to verbally attack the other. We'll see what the future holds. For now, though, this one appears to have cooled off.

Grade: B-

              

Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko

@Donphilyon

There's no bad blood here, no social media jabs. Just two razor-close decisions between the two best female fighters on the UFC roster.

After Nunes' recent loss to Julianna Pena, some of the bloom came off of this rose. After laying waste to the flyweight division, Shevchenko appears ready to challenge Nunes, even if there's no longer a belt on the line. Shevchenko told me a little while back that she believed Nunes was ducking her.

Nunes took each of their bouts, both of which were punctuated by extended inactivity. In the first contest, Shevchenko and Nunes only landed three significant strikes apiece in the second and third rounds, respectively. That's a low number.

Judges awarded the second bout to Nunes, though Shevchenko pushed back hard against the decision.

With the controversial scoring, a third bout may be possible despite the two Nunes wins. However, the blemish on Nunes' record makes it harder to claim she's the GOAT or even the current best, not with Shevchenko and Kayla Harrison floating around.

This would surely move units, but not at the level of some of these other rivalries.

Grade: C-

                   

Let us now close up the B/R MMA mailbag. See you next week for riffs on a new topic.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones made a cryptic post Friday on Twitter pointing toward his potential plan for a return fight:

The greatest heavyweight of all time versus the greatest light heavyweight, who wants to see it? I’m game

— Jonny Meat (@JonnyBones) February 4, 2022

Jones, who last stepped in the Octagon in February 2020, didn't drop any hints about who he's referring to, but there are several possibilities.

Fedor Emelianenko is often viewed as the greatest heavyweight in MMA history, but the 45-year-old Russian has never fought in UFC. His most recent bout came at Bellator 269 in October when he scored a knockout victory over Timothy Johnson.

More UFC-centric options include Stipe Miocic, Daniel Cormier and current UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.

Jones and Cormier have already faced off twice. "Bones" won the first meeting by unanimous decision in January 2015 and delivered a knockout in the second matchup in July 2017, though that result was later changed to a no contest after Jones failed a PED test.

Ngannou is set to undergo knee surgery following his successful title defense against Ciryl Gane in late January. That seemingly takes him out of the equation as Jones' opponent in the short term.

So that leaves Miocic as the most likely candidate to fit Jones' description.

Miocic held the heavyweight title for just shy of four years across two separate stints. He last fought in March when he dropped the belt to Ngannou.

A clash between Jones and Miocic would certainly be a main-event level attraction as the heavyweight division awaits Ngannou's eventual return.