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09th May 2017

UFC champion makes admirably honest admission after Anthony Joshua question

Under no illusion

Darragh Murphy

Don’t expect Daniel Cormier to go in the Conor McGregor direction any time soon.

While ‘The Notorious’ busies himself pursuing the puncher’s chance of knocking out the greatest defensive boxer of his generation, Floyd Mayweather, in the most lucrative combat sports event of all time, Cormier fully believes that mixed martial artists have no business testing their hands against the elite of the ring.

The reigning UFC light heavyweight champion has no desire to pursue a multi-million dollar payday against the man who has breathed new life into boxing’s heavyweight division.

Anthony Joshua has been all that anybody can talk about since stopping Wladimir Klitschko late on in the Wembley meeting of boxing’s past and future.

Everyone from Joseph Parker to Tyson Fury to Deontay Wilder wants a piece of ‘AJ’ but Cormier was refreshingly honest when asked whether he would be interested in switching codes to face off with Watford’s finest.

“I would get knocked out so fast,” Cormier answered in a welcome departure from recent claims from certain MMA fighters that they would be able to hold their own in a straight-up boxing match.

McGregor is not the only man on the UFC roster eager to switch to 10oz gloves in recent months.

Talk of an Anderson Silva vs. Roy Jones Jr. match-up returned to headlines recently while top UFC light heavyweight Jimi Manuwa exclusively told JOE last month that a deal had been agreed in principle to clash with former world heavyweight and cruiserweight champion, David Haye.

Any MMA fighter would be an understandable underdog against a top boxer and while some refuse to accept that reality, Cormier is definitely not overestimating his skills.