NEW YORK _ Daniel Cormier manhandled a sizable heavyweight challenger Saturday, and his reward is a more imposing man, former UFC and current WWE champion Brock Lesnar.
"Can you imagine the visual? Me versus Brock Lesnar?" the generously listed 5-foot-11 Cormier said of the massive 6-3 Lesnar. "I'm here to test myself. Brock Lesnar is a test."
In the afterglow of submitting second-ranked contender Derrick Lewis by rear naked chokehold in the second round of Saturday's UFC 230 main event at Madison Square Garden, Cormier (22-1) said he plans next to meet Lesnar in the main event of UFC 235 March 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Lesnar, 41, reigned as UFC champion from 2008-10, but he hasn't fought in the octagon since 2016, when a victory over Mark Hunt was washed away by a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs.
"That could be the retirement fight for old D.C. Talk about the opportunity to go out on an all-time high ... Lesnar in Las Vegas," Cormier said. "It looks like March 2, 2019, will be my last time in the octagon. Brock is a beast, man, a real-life beast, a guy who's really going to press me."
But Cormier has stopped all three beefy foes he's confronted this year, including former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic by first-round knockout, to become the first fighter in UFC history to successfully defend belts in two divisions.
"It means everything," Cormier said. "I wanted to be remembered when I left the sport. When you do things that have never been done before, doing it in Madison Square Garden, it's amazing."
UFC President Dana White praised the 39-year-old Cormier for his startling run of success that has coincided with the drug-suspension absence of Cormier's bitter rival Jon Jones, who is set to return Dec. 29 in a rematch against two-time light-heavyweight challenger Alexander Gustafsson.
White has anointed Jones-Gustafsson as a meeting for the light-heavyweight belt he will strip from Cormier on fight night given Cormier's interest in fighting Lesnar next.
"The guy (Cormier) is all around incredible ... he can do anything. I was so blown away and impressed," White said. "He's a beast and is better than everybody right now ... everybody includes Brock."
The unsettled part of Cormier's legacy is Jones, who has defeated Cormier by decision, then stopped him last year at Honda Center before a no-contest was declared due to Jones submitting a positive performance-enhancing drug test sample that an arbitration panel this year deemed accidental ingestion.
"If he wants to come back to light-heavyweight, he can fight one of the contenders. He got knocked out last time we fought," Jones (23-1) said Friday. "I wouldn't fight D.C. at heavyweight. I've beaten him twice. I have nothing to prove."
Cormier laughed.
"Giving me a shot? Seriously? When it comes to Jones, it's hard for me to take anything seriously," Cormier said. "I've always said he won (last year's) fight. He put a video up of a girl kicking me in the head. I told him that was a heck of a kick, but that, 'You can't use that, dog, you were on steroids.' (The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) said whatever, but you still had steroids in your system.
"For him to say I don't think (I) deserve a title shot ... I'm the guy who's been here the whole time because he can't stay out of trouble. They gave me the title back without winning a fight. They know it's safe. With this dude? We don't know what he's going to do."
Should both Cormier and Jones win their next fights, it seems unfathomable to imagine Cormier's competitive juices not getting the best of him, prodding him to return to light-heavyweight to chase his demon.
The main event was preceded by Brazilian Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza closing a slugfest with former middleweight champion Chris Weidman by knocking out Weidman in the third round in a bout designated the fight of the night.
Victory leaves Souza primed to meet the winner of the February title bout between champion Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum in Australia.
"I knew if I could connect, I could end the fight," said Souza, who overcame a bloodied nose to win. "I tasted the blood and thought, 'Let's keep doing this ... .' Now it's clear the chance is in front of me to fight the Whittaker-Gastelum winner.
Although he's lost previously to both Whittaker and Gastelum, Souza insists, "I never lose a rematch. Every time I'm under pressure, I excel. I knew Weidman was a great opponent. I did my best. I won."
Unbeaten middleweight Israel Adesanya (15-0) won for the fourth time this year, stopping sixth-ranked Derek Brunson by a first-round knockout. Adesanya revealed he suffered knee inflammation in the days before the fight and will undergo minor surgery, dampening his interest in standing as a possible backup for a shot at Whittaker if Gastelum gets hurt in training.
" 'Jacare' has lost to Kelvin and Robert. Who wants to see that again? Come on," Adesanya said in pressing to leap Souza and all others to be next for the Whittaker-Gastelum winner. "Yoel (Romero) doesn't make weight. (Injured former champion Luke) Rockhold's pullout game is strong.
"Who else do we have? We need something fresh. It makes so much sense. Dana said he wants to make some crazy money. What makes sense is what the people want to see, and they want to see me."
