4 reasons why Daniel Cormier will definitely beat Brock Lesnar

UFC 226: Miocic v Cormier
Daniel Cormier's fight with Brock Lesnar is already highly anticipated

Whether you agree with the matchmaking or think it’s a total farce, one thing is for certain – when it finally happens, the fight between Daniel Cormier and Brock Lesnar with the UFC Heavyweight title on the line will be the most talked about – and perhaps the most controversial – fight probably since Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather.

Who’s likely to win? Well, Lesnar has a massive size advantage, once held the Heavyweight title and defended it successfully twice, and he’s a far bigger star when it comes to drawing fans’ attention....but he’s still very likely to come out on the wrong end of this fight.

Why? Here are five reasons why Daniel Cormier is definitely going to beat ‘The Beast Incarnate’.


#1 Lesnar hasn’t officially won a fight since 2010

UFC 116: Lesnar v Carwin
Lesnar's 2010 victory over Shane Carwin is his most recent official win

Okay, okay, so unofficially, Lesnar defeated Mark Hunt by unanimous decision at UFC 200 on July 9th, 2016. But of course, the current WWE champion tested positive for a PED after that fight – the banned estrogen blocker clomiphene - and so the win was officially struck from his record and declared a No Contest.

That means that officially, Lesnar hasn’t won an MMA fight since July 3rd, 2010, when he defended his UFC Heavyweight title by choking out Shane Carwin. To put the timeframe in perspective, at the same time, women had never fought in the UFC, the WEC was still home to the Featherweight and Bantamweight divisions, and Cormier had just two professional fights to his name.

Since that win, Lesnar has fought three more times – a loss to Cain Velasquez later in 2010, a loss to Alistair Overeem in 2011, and the aforementioned fight with Hunt. And in between, he’s dealt with major bouts of diverticulitis and has become more known for competing in the staged – but physically damaging – world of WWE.

Cormier meanwhile has been facing the best in the world – the likes of Jon Jones, Alexander Gustafsson, Anthony Johnson and Josh Barnett. Simply put, Lesnar likely isn’t at all ready for what Cormier can bring into the cage against him.

#2 The fight sounds very similar to Lesnar’s loss to Cain Velasquez

UFC 121: Velasquez v Lesnar
Cormier fights in a similar way to his training partner Cain Velasquez - who brutally beat Lesnar in 2010

During the build to the fight between Lesnar and Velasquez in 2010, one of the points that pro-Lesnar fans made was that they felt Brock had a better wrestling pedigree than Velasquez, as he’d won a Division I wrestling title in 2000 while Velasquez’s best placing was fourth.

They also pointed out the massive size difference between the two, with Lesnar cutting weight to make the 265lbs limit while Velasquez walked around at his fighting weight, somewhere in the region of 245lbs.

Velasquez supporters fired back by stating that while Cain hadn’t reached the peaks in the amateur wrestling world that Lesnar had, he was far more experienced in all of the facets of MMA – submission grappling and striking in particular – and his smaller size wouldn’t really play into the fight as he was far more skilled than Lesnar.

In the end, it was the Velasquez supporters who were proven right. Lesnar couldn’t hold Velasquez down and was badly outgunned standing. Velasquez won by first-round TKO, and the fight remains one of the most one-sided title fights in UFC history.

Why is this so important? Well, if you follow MMA you probably know that Velasquez’s primary training partner – today and indeed, back in 2010 – is Daniel Cormier. The pair has a very similar skill-set, blending their wrestling skills with some brutal striking and a seemingly endless gas tank.

Essentially then, the fight resembles Lesnar’s most disastrous career loss in so many ways that it’s very hard to envision him having any success.

#3 Brock doesn’t like getting hit – and Cormier’s going to hit him

UFC 141: Lesnar v Overeem
Lesnar wilted under the striking power of Alistair Overeem in 2011

The biggest criticism of Lesnar during his initial UFC run was a pretty simple one – the hulking wrestler simply didn’t appear to be able to take a punch well.

It sounds bizarre really, as what kind of sane human being could enjoy being hit in the first place?

But in the world of MMA, while it’s never a good idea to take punches, you simply have to be able to endure punishment to make it to the top.

Lesnar though managed to make it through his first four UFC fights – against Frank Mir, Heath Herring, Randy Couture and Mir again – largely unscathed.

Mir submitted him after taking punishment on the ground and was then knocked out on the ground in their second meeting, and Herring and Couture were simply out-powered by the ‘Beast Incarnate’.

Against Shane Carwin though, Lesnar finally took a hard hit and simply folded, only being able to win due to Carwin’s poor cardio letting him down.

And against two hard hitters in Cain Velasquez and Alistair Overeem, Lesnar wilted under big shots again and was finished by the first-round TKO in both fights.

And this time he’s facing one of the heaviest hitters in the UFC today. We all saw the power of Cormier’s punches when he melted Stipe Miocic on Saturday.

If he hits Lesnar like that – and the likelihood is that he will – it’s hard to see Brock not wilting under his power, as he did in his previous UFC run.

#4 Lesnar won’t have a wrestling advantage

US Olympic Team Trials Wrestling Day 4
Cormier wrestled at two Olympic Games - an even higher level than Lesnar competed at

One thing that was always on Lesnar’s side for his previous UFC bouts was that he was always a superior wrestler to his opponents.

Prior to his initial run in WWE in the early 2000’s, Lesnar won an NCAA Division I wrestling title under the banner of the University of Minnesota, and naturally, he used that wrestling pedigree to great effect in the UFC, taking down all of his opponents outside of Overeem – who finished him on the feet in quick fashion.

Even Velasquez, a great wrestler in his own right, was trumped by Lesnar in that department, as he’d only ever finished fourth in the NCAA Division I championships.

Cormier never won an NCAA Division I title either, but he came close – finishing as runner-up to the legendary Cael Sanderson in 2001.

And more than that, he actually wrestled at an even higher level, representing Team USA at two Olympic Games, even taking fourth place in 2004.

While Lesnar might have a size advantage over Cormier, the chances of him having a genuine wrestling advantage, then, are pretty minimal.

Cormier is one of the most decorated amateur wrestlers in MMA history, and it’s hard to see Lesnar taking him down as he did to the likes of Frank Mir and Heath Herring.


Can Lesnar beat Cormier? Send us your opinions in the comments section below!

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Edited by Alan John