UFC News: Roman Reigns Stepping Away Affecting Brock Lesnar And Daniel Cormier Fight?
What's the story?
Roman Reigns taking time away from WWE could have an impact outside the WWE Universe and the world of professional wrestling into the world of UFC and Mixed Martial Arts.
According to Dave Meltzer, in his write up for MMA Fighting, there is a huge chance that WWE's new contract with Lesnar in the light of Roman Reigns temporarily taking a hiatus will have repercussions on the Cormier-Lesnar fight.
In case you didn't know...
Roman Reigns was the superstar WWE was building up to be the face of the company for the past five years. Moving away from John Cena, who has taken a step away from the business, it was Reigns the torch was passed to. While he was a figure of heated debate among members of the WWE Universe, 'The Big Dog' had taken on the burden without complaint.
Unfortunately, for everyone involved, Reigns discovered that the Leukaemia he had defeated over a decade ago in 2008, had made a comeback. He needed to take a step away from the WWE only two months after winning the WWE Universal Championship following a two-year struggle to get there.
The heart of the matter
According to Meltzer, when Reigns was affected by the disease, Vince McMahon had to find a new top superstar fast. Who else did he turn to except Brock Lesnar?
Apparently, Lesnar quietly signed a contract with WWE which sees him tied to the company in the role of their top star until at least WrestleMania of 2019. The deal he has signed allows him a fight in the UFC, but there's a question whether Lesnar will go for it.
Lesnar is not the most active star on the WWE roster, but the new contract has him making far more appearances in WWE than he was supposed to.
How does this affect his fight with Daniel Cormier?
Cormier announced that he was set to leave UFC and retire on the 20th of March next year. In a recent interview, he placed a potential date for his last UFC on the 2nd of March at UFC 235. There he said that he wished to face Lesnar in that fight, but will Lesnar at all make the fight given his appearances for WWE in the leadup to WrestleMania?
A fight in the Heavyweight Division of UFC takes an immense amount of training and a lot of dedication. The leadup to WrestleMania is also one of WWE's most important and busy times.
It is almost impossible for Lesnar to make both appearances.
What's next?
So, in the light of this, who will Daniel Cormier face if Lesnar does not appear?
Cormier has no dearth of challenges, and despite saying he does not need a Jon Jones fight, that might be exactly what he turns to eventually. If not Jones, then it has to be the person he won the Championship from in the first place.
Stipe Miocic never received the rematch he demanded after his UFC 226 loss.
At the moment, nothing is decided. Stay tuned to Sportskeeda for further updates.