- Daniel Cormier declared prime Cain Velasquez as the best fighter of his generation
- DC thinks Velasquez vs. Jon Jones would’ve been an epic fight
Daniel Cormier is still convinced that prime Cain Velasquez was the best MMA fighter there was. With that in mind, DC regrets never getting to see a showdown between Velasquez and current UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Everybody knows Cain was the best
Speaking to MMA Fighting, Cormier raved about Velasquez and said that all the people who have seen a healthy Cain perform will say the same thing. DC even admitted that Velasquez was certainly better than him.
“I tell you, nobody wanted those Cain Velasquez problems,” Cormier said. “If that dude was healthy and ready to go, I still believe he was the best fighter. Ask me, ask Khabib [Nurmagomedov], ask the guys that saw him in the gym when he was healthy and he was good, nobody was like Cain.”
“Think about his accolades, and he had to miss five or six years in the middle of his prime due to injury,” he added. “He was the best. I’m telling you right now, he’s one of those guys that everyone calls the best, this dude was the best. He was better than me, for sure.”
Daniel Cormier says healthy Cain Velasquez was "the best fighter" in the world
Full story by @DamonMartin: https://t.co/vWi17rRBwV pic.twitter.com/3xGhkUwxDk
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) November 19, 2023
Velasquez vs. Jones would’ve been epic
Cormier faced Jones twice inside the octagon and is well aware of how good “Bones” is as a fighter. Admittedly, DC knows that a Velasquez vs. Jones fight might never happen but it would’ve have been an epic showdown, especially back then.
“That’s one we missed,” Cormier said of Velasquez vs. Jones. “That would have been a good one.”
As it stands, Velasquez seems to be no longer interested in making an MMA comeback. The last time he returned to action was at a pro wrestling event at Lucha Libre AAA.
Velasquez last fought in the UFC in 2019 where he lost to Francis Ngannou via first-round KO. During his prime, Velasquez won the UFC heavyweight title twice and famously stopped Brock Lesnar at UFC 121. He also rivalries with Junior Dos Santos and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. Velasquez has a pro MMA record of 14-3.
