LOS ANGELES — Daniel Cormier wasn’t a happy camper when the decision was read in Saturday night’s Bellator 120 main event between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and “King Mo” Lawal.
Cormier counts Lawal among his close friends and is a former training partner. So when a controversial unanimous decision was read against Lawal, Cormier let fly with an indiscrete tweet questioning Bellator’s integrity.
“@BellatorMMA sucks they are cheaters,”Cormier tweeted.
By the time Monday rolled around, Cormier was back in control. At a downtown media gathering promoting his UFC 173 co-main event bout with Dan Henderson, Cormier said his emotions got the best of him and he didn’t mean to imply corruption in the rival MMA company.
“It was in the moment,” Cormier told MMAFighting.com in a one-on-one interview. “They’re not responsible for the judges. It was just being upset and tweeting what’s on your mind.”
Cormier, of course, stands by his belief that Lawal won the fight. It’s not an uncommon thought: According to MMADecisions.com, 11 of 12 media members polled scored the bout 29-28 in favor of Lawal; the 12th scored it a draw.
Cormier, like most, felt Lawal won the first and third rounds. Jackson got rounds two and three on all three scorecards to take the 29-28 decision.
“I thought [Lawal] won the fight,” Cormier said. “He won the first and third pretty clearly. That’s where I had the issue. But again, I’m emotionally invested. It’s not like I’m watching it without any bias. I thought he won the fight.”