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All these guys calling out Daniel Cormier seriously think he'll fight anyone before Brock Lesnar?

You’ve got to give them credit for trying. All of them. Newly minted double-champ Daniel Cormier dangled the possibility of a light heavyweight title fight in front of their faces, and they dove after it with everything they had.

Illir Latifi gave it a shot. Then UFC Fight Night 134 headliner Anthony Smith made his very logically sound case. We’ve also heard from Nick Diaz and Yoel Romero, both of whom seem to think they’d make for compelling opponents, though for somewhat different reasons.

No one can blame them for giving it their best shot. But do any of them seriously believe it’s a real possibility?

Consider the facts. According to Cormier, he’s done fighting once he hits his 40th birthday next March. If he wants a big money fight with Brock Lesnar (and he very clearly does) before then, he’ll have to wait until mid-January at the earliest, owing to the big fella’s doping suspension. And assuming that fight actually happens in early 2019, Cormier says it’ll be his last.

That leaves a roughly six-month window between now and January for every other fighter to shoot his shot. It’s especially enticing for light heavyweights, since Cormier has teased the possibility of defending that title before returning to heavyweight to deal with Lesnar.

But come on, you really think that’s going to happen?

I don’t question Cormier’s willingness to fight. He’s tossed out the names of potential 205-pound opponents, including Mauricio Rua, should he get past Smith in Hamburg on Sunday, and he seems to be mostly sincere about all that.

But if you’re a UFC executive with bills to pay and Lesnar’s eligibility date circled on the calendar, why would you even consider letting Cormier set foot in a cage before then?

He’s 39, for crying out loud, and you almost lost him to a wayward cord just a couple weeks ago. You’re really going to risk your big payday by finding out if he can break his hand on some light heavyweight’s face?

If you’re looking at the bottom line (and the UFC is always, always looking at the bottom line), it’s not a gamble that makes sense. So why are all these fighters acting like it’s a fight they might actually get?

One possible explanation is that they’re optimistic to the point of delusion. They believe it because they want to believe it. Maybe they even need to believe it.

Another possibility is that they don’t believe Cormier or the UFC would ever jeopardize that Lesnar payday, which makes it totally safe to call him out and get your name in the news. It’s easy to do and relatively risk-free, plus you can make your case in public. (Even if you’re Latifi and the best case you can make is that you’ve won five or your last six, which is a convenient way of ignoring a really bad knockout loss to Ryan Bader in 2016.)

The final, and maybe most realistic explanation? They know Cormier’s not defending that belt. They also know that sooner or later the UFC is going to have to do something about it, whether that something is an interim title or a bout for the vacant strap.

And when that happens? Then it might be a really good idea to be the guy with his hand up, ready to be picked.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

The Blue Corner is MMAjunkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly seriously, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie's blog space. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, that's on you.

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