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“In fact you don’t owe us an apology ‘DC,’ we owe you a ‘thank you.’”
In the aftermath of Daniel Cormier’s loss to Stipe Miocic, where Miocic TKO ‘DC’ in the fourth round of the UFC 241 main event to reclaim the heavyweight title, the former Olympian issued an apology to his fans.
Former UFC title challenger turned podcast host and ESPN Analyst Chael Sonnen, however, told Cormier on a recent episode of Beyond the Fight that he doesn’t owe an apology to anyone.
In fact, Sonnen believes we — the fans — should be thanking the American Kickboxing Academy standout for being a tremendous champion and sportsman.
“Daniel Cormier came out with an apology,” Sonnen said, per BJPenn.com. “Guys, let me tell you what I saw. I saw a champion of sport, a leader within his field, go out [and] put it all on the line in his new home state of California in front of all of his family and friends. I saw him winning a fight against the greatest heavyweight to have ever done it and I saw him get knocked out. He then offered an apology and I will tell you it seemed like a very broad apology. It was put on the Internet, I think it was just to all of us.”
“I will tell you I don’t accept it,” he continued. “I would hope that none of you would accept it for the simple reason that it never needed to be issued. In fact you don’t owe us an apology ‘DC,’ we owe you a ‘thank you.’ And we owe you a pat on the back for doing a great job and setting a great example and for trying your hardest.”
Cormier, who originally KO’d Miocic to win the heavyweight title back in 2018, got the better of Miocic in the early rounds but wilted to a series ripping body shots in the fourth round and was ultimately finished with a barrage of ground-and-pound against the fence.
As of today, the former p4p No. 1 is ranked #7 in the official UFC pound-for-pound rankings and, despite losing to Miocic, is still widely considered one of the greatest fighters of all time.