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Daniel Cormier believes he will be in for a more challenging matchup from Brock Lesnar than what he just experienced against Derrick Lewis at UFC 230.

Dual-UFC champ Cormier (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC) recorded his first heavyweight title defense on Saturday when he rather effortlessly took out Lewis (21-6 MMA, 12-4 UFC) by second-round submission in the UFC 230. The victory set up a clash with Lesnar (5-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) in what will seemingly by “DC’s” MMA retirement fight.

Outside of his memorable encounters with Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson, Cormier has rarely been pushed or tested during his career. Lesnar has competed in MMA just once in the past seven years, but Cormier believes the former heavyweight titleholder has the ability to provide him a stylistic challenge – or at least more of one than Lewis presented.

“I think it’s tougher, because he kind of cancels out the wrestling,” Cormier told MMAjunkie Radio. “I can’t just go take Brock Lesnar down at will like I was able to with Derrick Lewis. And he’s big and athletic and super fast. Also, he has a size 5X glove, so if he’s able to land one of those strikes, it could be the end of the night. I truly do believe it’s the tougher fight.”

Cormier and Lesnar are expected to fight in the first quarter of 2019 so long as Lesnar is able to get through his U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspension and required testing period before returning to the octagon. Cormier mentioned UFC 235 on March 2 in Las Vegas as potential destination for the bout, and it happens to come less than three weeks before his 40th birthday, when he’ll retire.

The fight between Cormier and Lewis, which headlined UFC 230 from Madison Square Garden in New York, came together on roughly three weeks’ notice after the promotion was in need of a main event for the card. Cormier said he felt confident accepting the fight because he knew he had a clear advantage over Lewis in the grappling department and that would lead him to victory.

Cormier doesn’t necessarily see that clear path with Lesnar, though, and said he will need to be fully prepared before stepping in the octagon for the fight.

“This one was a clear path to victory,” Cormier said. “I’ve always done well against guys that have to just knock me out to win. I just feel like I’m good enough at avoiding strikes to just take that one good punch that’s going to put me out. When there’s a clear path, I usually will take it.”

For complete coverage of UFC 230, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

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