Site icon Side Action

Next Stop WWE for UFC’s Cormier & McGregor?

10 September 2011: Daniel Cormier wins the Semi-Final Heavyweight Bout during the Strikeforce Grand Prix Semi-Finals at US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, OH.

Fun news from the world of contact sports and imaginary sports overnight last night. In an interview with TMZ that dropped late Friday night, Paul “Triple H” Levesque (this nickname makes so much less sense with his real name, which has zero H’s in it), Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development for the WWE opened the door to Daniel Cormier and Conor McGregor joining WWE in the future.

“If he decides that he’s done, or wants to leave UFC” the WWE would definitely be interested in Cormier’s skill set, Levesque tells the gossip outlet, before going on to describe the positive personality aspects that Cormier brings to the table. “We’ve obviously talked a lot in the past… whether that’s in-ring or commentary or doing different things,” Levesque confirmed, saying that he’s spoken to Cormier about the possibility several times.

The “natural born entertainer” could fit into the WWE in any number of roles, depending on what he’d like to do, and WWE seems very open to the possibility, with Levesque continuing that “We’d love to chat with him and we have an open relationship as far as communication so I’m sure shortly we will when he figures out what he wants to do.”


Related


For his part, Cormier has repeatedly stated that his plan is to fight one more time in the UFC before moving on. While no fight is currently scheduled, he has been circling a third fight with Stipe Miocic to complete their epic trilogy. Cormier won their first bout in 2018 with a shocking first-round knockout to end the second-longest heavyweight title reign in UFC history. Miocic then reclaimed the title last August winning their second fight with a fourth-round TKO. Both fighters and the UFC are on board for what should be an epic rubber match, so fight fans can expect it on a future card when the world returns to something near-normal.

Win or lose, it should serve as a great walk into retirement for the 40-year-old Cormier, setting up the possibility of him jumping to the pretend fighting organization. Levesque was sure to clarify that he would wait out any of Cormier’s UFC commitments, telling TMZ “I think we’d love to do something with him if the time is right, obviously, respectful to UFC and to Dana.”

TMZ also asked about the potential future of Conor McGregor, which Triple H seemed to take a bit more humorously, suggesting that McGregor could potentially fight Vince McMahon with McMahon’s signature “Million-dollar walk” on the line. Continuing for a few moments, it sure seemed like Levesque is more interested in McGregor as an entertainer than as a fighter, discussing how his ability to “capture people as a personality (is) what really makes those fights.”

McGregor has already made an unsuccessful foray into boxing, losing a fight he was never truly in to Floyd Mayweather in 2017. The fight was the second-most watched bout in pay-per-view history, and McGregor hasn’t lost much of his appeal, so it’s clear that the WWE would be interested in adding him to their stable of stars. Whether the WWE fan wants to make the leap here is another story, as he’s currently in the midst of trying to make a fight vs. the heavier Anderson Silva.

“Triple H” wrapped up the interview by letting the world know that Rob Gronkowski’s title belt is still “on the line 24×7” despite the tight-end’s return to the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, even going so far as to suggest that Gronk could be a victim of a Tom Brady sneak-attack while celebrating a touchdown catch. I’m no expert, but I don’t think Brady is under contract with the WWE, does this mean anyone is allowed to try to win the belt at any time? If we see Gronk at the park or… actually that’s a really bad idea…


Check us out on TWITTER, where we talk sports, share articles, and have lots of giveaways!