Cooler heads have seemed to prevail after UFC middleweight Phil Hawes’ post-UFC Austin dust-up with Daniel Cormier.
Hawes defeated one of Cormier’s protégés, Deron Winn, during the UFC Austin prelims this weekend. It was arguably the best performance of Hawes’ career as he pressured Winn on the feet and eventually forced a stop to the action in Round 2.
But Hawes’ gratification of victory quickly turned hostile as he got into it with Cormier just minutes after the fight’s conclusion. Hawes appeared to take issue with Cormier allegedly picking Winn’s opponents, which the commentator and former UFC double champion vehemently denied.
During his UFC Austin post-fight press conference, Hawes expressed regret for getting into it with Cormier.
“It’s just a misunderstanding on my behalf, you know, ’cause ‘DC’ is such a role model to me. You know what I mean? Two-weight world champion and just a freaking stellar dude,” Hawes said. “So there was a little miscommunication, wrong place, wrong time. I apologize, ‘DC’. Don’t beat me up.” (h/t SportsKeeda)
Hawes and Cormier went ahead with their post-fight Octagon interview and tensions seemed to subside quickly.
Hawes rebounded after a first-round knockout loss to Chris Curtis last November at UFC 268. Before that, he won seven straight fights over the likes of Kyle Daukaus and Nassourdine Imavov.
Hawes and Cormier seemed to cool off following the heated exchange, but MMA fans can expect Cormier to potentially address the confrontation on his DC&RC show this week.
What was your reaction to the post-fight altercation between Phil Hawes and Daniel Cormier?
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