With a triumphant UFC debut in the books, heavyweight contender Daniel Cormier looks at his future in the division as well as when he wants to fight next.
Daniel Cormier had a successful UFC debut two weeks ago, as he defeated former champion Frank Mir by unanimous decision in the co-main event of UFC on Fox 7. The Strikeforce HW Grand Prix winner remains undefeated in his MMA career and is clearly one of the best heavyweights in the division.
What remains in doubt is whether he will continue to fight at heavyweight, where his training partner and friend Cain Velasquez currently reigns as champion, or try to cut to 205 lbs, where he is already seen as a potential threat to Jon Jones. In an interview with Damon Martin of Bleacher Report, Cormier talked about his immediate future:
The plan for Cormier right now is to book his next fight at heavyweight while he's making the transition down to the smaller weight class. The key, according to the former Olympian, is to cut the weight slowly but surely without sacrificing too much time inside the cage.
"Yeah because it keeps me busy, I'm still getting to fight and still gaining experience," Cormier said about staying at heavyweight for now. "At the end of the day, I'm still very early in my career."
When asked about a potential fight with fellow top 10 HW Roy Nelson, he had this to say:
"I think any fight that involves someone on that higher rank makes sense," Cormier stated. "Any of the higher-ranked guys make sense. Also a guy that's coming off a win. It's very important if you look at the UFC matchmaking that's how it goes. Two guys coming off wins make fights. I think any fight with a guy that's ranked high and advances my career makes sense. I just want to fight big fights."
As for when he wants to fight again? Cormier had two potential dates in mind for the summer:
"When I look at some of these cards you look at the July card, Anderson Silva and (Chris) Weidman, I think they need a co-main event. Then in August that Fox Sports 1 card, that would be pretty cool," stated Cormier. "Any of the big cards I would love to be a part of."
UFC 162 is already filled as far as the main card is concerned. UFC on FS1 only has one fight scheduled (Thiago Alves/Matt Brown), so if he does fight this summer I think it's very possible he's on the August 17th Boston card. A fight with Nelson on FS1 could easily be the evening's co-main event.