UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has come forward to reveal that AKA teammate and former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez gave the fighter permission to face off against Stipe Miocic.
The UFC recently revealed that Daniel Cormier will be moving up in weight to challenge UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic for his title. The two mixed martial arts warriors will face off at UFC 226 on July 7 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.
That being said, Cormier wanted to gain the blessing of his former heavyweight champion teammate before making the call to face Miocic. Speaking to TMZ Sports, Cormier revealed that he first talked to Velasquez about the situation.
“I’m excited,” Cormier said. “It’s a big deal. Great opportunity to fight the greatest heavyweight champion of all time and try to cement myself as one of the best fighters to ever do it.
“I just want to fight. Plus, it’s such a big opportunity. It’s one of those that you can’t really pass up whenever it’s offered to you. Once I talked to Cain Velasquez and he gave me the go-ahead and well wishes, I was like, ‘You know what? I have to do it.’
“I’ve never been afraid of a fight. That’s one thing: I’ve never been afraid of a fight. It was always about whether or not it worked in terms of what I was trying to do and what my teammate had going. Cain said to me he doesn’t think that he would get a title shot right away — ‘So let’s get you prepared to try to be the heavyweight champ of the world.’”
“[White] is a pretty persistent guy, and when he wants something done, he has ways of getting them done,” Cormier said. “And let’s just say I enjoy his ways.”
