Augusto Sakai says Daniel Cormier retiring would be ‘good for the division’
“I saw that they might book him against Brock Lesnar and then he might retire, and that will be good for the division.”
UFC Fort Lauderdale’s Augusto Sakai is inching closer to a title shot, and the heavyweight slugger thinks it would be ‘good for the division’ if reigning king Daniel Cormier retired in the coming months.
”I saw that they might book him against Brock Lesnar and then he might retire, and that will be good for the division,” Sakai told MMA Fighting prior to his win over Andrei Arlovski at UFC Fight Night 150. “There will be another title fight, things will start to move in the division, so it will be easier for me to dream about that title shot.”
A heavyweight bout between Cormier and Lesnar has been in the works for almost a year, dating back to when Lesnar stormed the cage after ‘DC’s’ knockout win over Stipe Miocic at UFC 226, which saw Cormier capture the heavyweight title to become the promotion’s first-ever simultaneous light heavyweight and heavyweight champ. Despite all the hype and promotion, however, the UFC has yet to book the matchup and head president Dana White said he isn’t sure if Lesnar will return to the cage.
As for Sakai, the former Bellator heavyweight extended his win streak to four when he edged out a split decision win over MMA veteran Andrei Arlovski this past Saturday at UFC Fort Lauderdale. With a couple more wins under his belt, the 27-year-old could find himself knocking on the door of title contention.