Newly inducted UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier may be willing to step into the octagon at least once more, but only if a particular piece of hardware is on the line.
The 43-year-old former two-division champion turned UFC commentator has been enjoying retirement from competition since he stepped away from the sport in 2020. His last fight was a trilogy bout against Stipe Miocic in an attempt to regain the heavyweight title he once held.
While Cormier dropped and failed to regain the heavyweight crown, the light heavyweight title was one he never lost in competition.
“I said this when I retired, I said I’m only going to fight for championship belts,” Cormier said during a Twitter Q&A with Monster Energy. “But it’s like, I don’t deserve a heavyweight championship fight. Stipe is not the champ. He beat me the last couple times. I don’t deserve a shot at the heavyweight title.
“If I was ever going to fight again, and which I don’t want to, I would have to go all the way back to 205 pounds. Why? Let me tell you why. Because I didn’t lose.”
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Cormier’s final light heavyweight bout was against Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 220 in January 2018. He won that bout by second-round TKO, and took home a Performance of the Night bonus. Cormier then returned to heavyweight and knocked out Miocic to become champion in their first meeting. After, he vacated the light heavyweight title which was put up for grabs when Jon Jones faces Alexander Gustafson in their rematch at UFC 232.
“So, because I vacated the title, now maybe there is some potential in, ‘Hey Dana (White), you think I could fight Jiri Prochazka for the title?’ Cormier said. “Especially with your name recognition and what you’ve become outside of the fight game, maybe there’s some value in that.”
Cormier recognizes that the window of opportunity for a comeback is closing quickly, but perhaps examples of older fighters like Glover Teixeira claiming gold has given him some inspiration to even entertain the idea of giving it one last shot.
“If it ever happens, it better happen soon,” Cormier said. “I’m 44 years old in March. But hey, Randy. Couture won the heavyweight championship at 45, so it’s not impossible.”