Cain Velasquez agrees to fight Jon Jones if Daniel Cormier retires — ‘I’ll try to make that happen’

There’s a pretty good chance that reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight champion, Daniel Cormier, will retire from mixed martial arts (MMA) after he turns 40 in March, as planned.

That’s assuming “DC” can cash out with a career-ending payday against pay-per-view (PPV) goliath, Brock Lesnar, a fight that was first proposed last summer but seems increasingly unlikely as the obstacles (like this) begin to pile up.

If that’s the case, then Stipe Miocic will earn his championship rematch.

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How that affects a potential Jon Jones trilogy remains to be seen. Cormier — down 0-2 to his longtime rival — vacated the 205-pound strap before “Bones” returned at UFC 232 and captured the kingless crown by smashing Alexander Gustafsson.

Promotion president, Dana White, wants Cormier to postpone his retirement long enough to meet Jones at heavyweight. But if “DC” sets sail, then training partner Cain Velasquez is willing to step in and take his place.

“I hope so,” Velasquez told MMA Fighting. “I’ll try to make that happen.”

Velasquez and Jones are no stranger to fantasy fights, having been linked several times throughout the years when both fighters held simultaneous straps. Unfortunately, the stars were unable to align and the belts changed hands multiple times.

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But none of this is even worth discussing if Velasquez is unable to defeat power-punching “Predator,” Francis Ngannou, at the UFC on ESPN 1 event next month in Phoenix. In addition, Jones must get past Anthony Smith at UFC 235 in March.

Until then, see what a Velasquez vs. Jones staredown looks like here.