Long before winning a boxing world title, a heavyweight King tried MMA, eventually suffering a defeat at the hands of Daniel Cormier.
The now-retired brawler has opened up about his experience of going toe-to-toe with one of the best of all time.
Daniel Cormier beat Lucas Browne in the first round
In his boxing career, Lucas Browne scaled the mountain, traveling to Chechnya, Russia, to knockout Ruslan Chagaev to win the WBA heavyweight world title.
But prior to dedicating his life to the ‘sweet science’, the Australian tried out life inside the cage, compiling a 5-0 record, before exchanging leather with Daniel Cormier.
On July 31, at XMMA 2: ANZ vs. USA in Sydney, Australia, Browne was given an insight into how difficult the grappling side of the game can be.
Utilizing his wrestling prowess, his opponent took him to the floor, and finished the fight inside the first round.
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When asked by David ‘White Rhino’ Allen, whether ‘DC’ was the best he ever faced, the power puncher, replied: “Without a doubt, from a wrestling perspective, yes. I was meant to fight his gym mate. He was a 6ft4 stand-up fighter, and he pulled out three days before, and they put Cormier in.
“Rather than me saying, ‘No, I’m not going to fight’, I said, ‘Yes, why not’? I’d already sold all the tables and tickets and it was still for a title. It’s just the fact that he was a 2x Olympic wrestler, and he did a job on me, wrestling-wise.
“I was punching him, and he was punching me. But he cut me across the eyebrow. I had 13 stitches. I just couldn’t see what was going on. He belted me, and the referee stopped it, and thankfully so.”
Discussing Cormier’s boxing skills, Browne, added: “I threw a jab and he didn’t even see it. From that, he took me straight down. He knew his strengths. Me being taller and longer wouldn’t have been good for him. So, he took me down and kept taking me down.
“I’m a big, strong guy, but that wrestling technique is something totally different, and he just dominated me with that.”
Lucas Browne says an MMA legend hits harder than anyone else
While Browne has gone head-to-head with Cormier in the cage, as well as Dillian Whyte in the ring and Tyson Fury inside the gym, none of those names are the hardest puncher he’s faced.
On one occasion, the heavy-handed fighter had a spar with an icon of mixed martial arts.
The Aussie has now revealed that this individual hit him with far more venom than anybody else.
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