Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
That’s according to former UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, who also held gold at 205 pounds. “DC” suggests the recent press conference drama involving UFC 303 headliner Conor McGregor, as well as the radio silence from UFC CEO Dana White, indicates a major change to the UFC 303 headliner on June 29 in Las Vegas.
“Start to brace yourself, a little bit, for disappointment,” Cormier told Chael Sonnen on their Good Guy-Bad Guy show. “I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news. Let me tell you something about the UFC: Dana White will argue and scream at the media. Dana White will give the media a hard time — Dana White has no problem letting the media down. You know who Dana White doesn’t like letting down? The fans. He tries to overdeliver for fans. To me, it feels like this is a big deal. Look, I have reached out to many in the organization to try and find out what happened, and when everybody is as tight-lipped as they are right now, to me that tells me it’s a little worrisome.”
Cormier suggests that McGregor, unlike opponent Michael Chandler, UFC, and even ESPN, is “the only one in the whole equation” who doesn’t need the UFC 303 payoff, which could be affecting the Irishman’s motivation to push forward and hang on until fight night.
“We’re all guessing,” Cormier told Sonnen. “But can I ask you this? Does there come a point, where an athlete gets in camp and goes, ‘I really don’t know if I wanna deal with any of this.’ And ultimately, does that attitude roll over to fight week and go, ‘I don’t need this anymore. I don’t really wanna fight. I don’t have to.’ I gotta ask the question Chael, and I might be being a negative Nancy, does there come a point in that camp where Conor says, ‘Eh, I don’t know if I wanna do this.’ Michael Chandler would drag himself there with no legs to get to that presser. Michael Chandler would fight Conor McGregor on one leg.”
The rumor mill points to a possible injury to the former two-division champion with matchmakers looking to cobble together a replacement fight for Chandler, as well as the UFC 303 main event. Hopefully the promotion can make an official statement within the next day or two to avoid “letting down the fans” who helped contribute to that $20 million gate.
Stay tuned.