Daniel Cormier says Brock Lesnar personally called him before UFC 226 and promised that a win over Stipe Miocic would mean “Christmas early” for his family, offering new detail on a heavyweight superfight that never materialized.
Cormier shared the story during a live fan Q&A on his YouTube channel, recalling being at his daughter’s gymnastics event when an unknown number called.
Man, I wanted that so bad. You know Brock Lesnar, I know him because we both wrestled in junior college in the same year, and he wrestled at Minnesota the same year I was at Oklahoma State.
He recalled Lesnar’s pitch.
I say, ‘What’s up, Brock? What the f*ck are you calling me for?’ ‘I hear you’re fighting that big white boy.’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ He goes, ‘You knock him out, it’s going to be Christmas early for your family because we’re going to fight.'
Cormier knocked out Miocic at UFC 226 in July 2018. Lesnar jumped into the octagon and shoved him, turning the moment into a pay-per-view tease. The fight was never made.
Cormier placed the blame on WWE’s financial offer to Lesnar.
It didn’t happen because the WWE gave him too much money, and he made the right choice. You talk about a man that money follows, it’s Brock Lesnar. He’s done really well for himself. I’m proud of him.
He also clarified that the UFC 226 shove was not staged.
He pushed me. He was strong. I tried to push him back, because I thought he pushed me soft, but he didn’t even move. I was like, I’m trying not to push too hard, and he didn’t even move. It was crazy.