Daniel Cormier has agreed with a fan on social media who argued he would "destroy" boxing legend Mike Tyson in a street fight.
The former two-weight UFC world champion was known during his career for having a flabby physique, and being much smaller than most heavyweights at just 5'11". But he was one of the greatest fighters on the planet at one point, and in most street fight situations would have an advantage on a boxer due to his wrestling prowess.
Cormier had been an Olympic-level wrestler, travelling to the 2008 Beijing games to captain the American team, prior to moving into MMA and becoming first StrikeForce and then UFC champion. He made the brutal cut to 205lb so his pal Cain Velasquez could pursue heavyweight gold, but moved back up towards the end of his career.
And when one fan claimed that a hypothetical street fight between Cormier and Tyson would go the UFC legend's way in a viral tweet, the topic was brought up on his ESPN show DC & RC. His co-host Ryan Clark refused to answer, while Cormier defended his position.
"I'm tapping out on answering," Clark joked. "I understand that street fights involve a lot of things and that DC is a lot meaner than he looks. I'm also more scared of current Tyson than I am of Daniel Cormier, so I'm not going to give an answer that may be factually untrue, and I'm also not going to give an answer that may get me beat up in real life so I abstain from making an answer."
Cormier hit back by saying: "Ryan, I tap in because in a street fight, I'm wrestling everybody, I'm wrestling everybody to the ground and in a street fight you grab bottles, you can use everything.
Who do you think wins in a street fight; Daniel Cormier or Mike Tyson? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
"But RC, more than the fight, because I love Mike, he's my boy and I would never raise a finger to harm Mike Tyson, the only reason I say that is I'm a little bit jolly. But look at a picture of me on the scale with my chain [from his fighting days], I know you saw my bling out there, I don't even wear that any more."
Cormier retired in 2020 after losing his heavyweight title rematch to Stipe Miocic in a razor-close decision to ultimately lose the pair's trilogy. He had just turned 41, having previously insisted that he would be hanging up the gloves on the day he turned 40.
Tyson, meanwhile, was just weeks away from launching his own boxing comeback. He faced Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition bout at the age of 54, and now two years later is still toying with the possibility of making a return to the ring to face one of Jake or Logan Paul.
