Tag: daniel cormier

Daniel Cormier Reacts To Rinat Fakhretdinov’s UFC 308 Commentary Criticism: ‘I Don’t Care, That Dude Lost’

UFC 308 featured one of the most controversial decision outcomes in some time as Rinat Fakhretdinov beat Carlos Leal via unanimous decision. Had this fight not opened up the card in Abu Dhabi, there would likely be more discussion around it right now. The decisions throughout the remainder of the night appeared to follow the […]

Continue Reading Daniel Cormier Reacts To Rinat Fakhretdinov’s UFC 308 Commentary Criticism: ‘I Don’t Care, That Dude Lost’ at MMA News.

UFC 308 featured one of the most controversial decision outcomes in some time as Rinat Fakhretdinov beat Carlos Leal via unanimous decision. Had this fight not opened up the card in Abu Dhabi, there would likely be more discussion around it right now.

The decisions throughout the remainder of the night appeared to follow the consensus opinion but the opener certainly raised alarm bells that we might be in for a bumpy ride.

All three judges had different scorecards with one of them, Hade Mohamed Ali, scoring all three rounds for Fakhretdinov which seemed incredibly unlikely when the final bell sounded. Leal, who stepped in on late notice, put up a very good fight and looked like he may have secured a big upset on his UFC debut.

When the scorecards were announced, there was a surprised reaction from fans online and from the UFC staff inside the Etihad Arena on Saturday night. The decision was heavily criticised by the commentary booth of Jon Anik, Paul Felder and Daniel Cormier who discussed the scoring when the cards were shown on the broadcast.

Fakhretdinov responded to this in his post-fight press conference, labelling them as “really bad commentators” who would give across the impression of biased judging.

In his immediate reactions video posted on his YouTube channel once the main event came to a close, Cormier responded to Fakhretdinov’s comments. “DC” doubled down on Leal winning the fight when he gave shout-outs to the winners of each fight on the prelims.

“Congratulations to… and Rinat Fakhretdinov, who did not win that fight. Rinat Fakhretdinov, I don’t care if he goes on any press conference and complains about our commentary, that dude lost! But still, congratulations, even though I think it was one of the worst decisions I’ve seen in a really long time.”

Continue Reading Daniel Cormier Reacts To Rinat Fakhretdinov’s UFC 308 Commentary Criticism: ‘I Don’t Care, That Dude Lost’ at MMA News.

Daniel Cormier: It’s Never Been Clearer That UFC Has ‘No Competition’ After PFL Event 

Daniel Cormier is confident that the UFC won’t struggle to maintain its status as the MMA leader following the recent PFL pay-per-view. The Professional Fighters League has long looked to establish itself as a “co-leader” in the sport of mixed martial arts, and the promotion had one of its most important events to date this […]

Continue Reading Daniel Cormier: It’s Never Been Clearer That UFC Has ‘No Competition’ After PFL Event  at MMA News.

Daniel Cormier is confident that the UFC won’t struggle to maintain its status as the MMA leader following the recent PFL pay-per-view.

The Professional Fighters League has long looked to establish itself as a “co-leader” in the sport of mixed martial arts, and the promotion had one of its most important events to date this past weekend.

In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the PFL’s latest PPV went down. Toward the end of what’s been an up and down first year post-Bellator acquisition, the organization looked to thrill audiences with the likes of Francis Ngannou and Cris Cyborg.

Those two names headlined, competing for and winning inaugural super fight championships. While the Brazilian won hers in a memorable five-round war opposite Larissa Pacheco, “The Predator” rolled through Renan Ferreira in under four minutes to successfully mark his comeback to the cage.

Suffice to say, the card ended in style and with plenty discussing the events that unfolded inside The Mayadeen. But when it comes to the PFL’s production as a whole, many remain unimpressed.

That notably included UFC star Conor McGregor, who insisted that his employer has “zero competition” in a now-deleted tweet during the PFL event.

And during a recent episode of his Good Guy / Bad Guy show alongside Chael Sonnen on ESPN MMA’s YouTube channel, Cormier shared that sentiment.

“It’s competition, but is it really competition? The WWE and AEW has some sort of competition. The WCW, when they were there, was competition to the WWE,” Cormier said. “Conor McGregor spoke on this last weekend. He said, ‘The UFC has no competitors.’

“I felt like, even though we were watching the biggest star outside the UFC, it was never more clear to me that there really is no competition,” Cormier continued. “Is it good that the UFC doesn’t have a competitor that can really push them?”

The PFL appears more than happy with how the Battle of the Giants PPV played out and was received, however. Founder and chairman Donn Davis claimed as much during a recent Town Hall-style interview with MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck.

He painted a contrasting picture when it comes to the PFL’s prospects of becoming legitimate competition, citing his organization’s “research” to state that the viewership figures for the Oct. 19 card outperformed those of every UFC event of 2024 thus far.

Continue Reading Daniel Cormier: It’s Never Been Clearer That UFC Has ‘No Competition’ After PFL Event  at MMA News.

Bruno Silva Slams Chris Weidman and Daniel Cormier for Disrespect, Aims for Revenge in the Octagon

Bruno Silva Slams Chris Weidman and Daniel Cormier for Disrespect, Aims for Revenge in the OctagonBruno Silva probably has a legitimate reason for hating Chris Weidman, but you can now add Daniel Cormier to…

Bruno Silva Slams Chris Weidman and Daniel Cormier for Disrespect, Aims for Revenge in the Octagon

Bruno Silva probably has a legitimate reason for hating Chris Weidman, but you can now add Daniel Cormier to the Brazilian’s sh*t list.

Silva and Weidman went toe-to-toe at UFC Atlantic City in March. Weidman initially won the bout via TKO just past the two-minute mark of the third round, but the decision was later changed after it was revealed that eye pokes played a sizeable role in the fight-ending sequence. Silva initially wanted to see the fight ruled a no-contest, but the State Athletic Control Board of New Jersey denied his request and instead switched it to a win for Weidman via technical decision.

Silva later revealed that he temporarily lost 30% of his vision in one of his eyes.

Understandably upset, Silva lobbied for a rematch with Weidman. Instead, he’ll return against Ismail Naurdiev this Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

“We were asking for this fight,” Silva said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “When I go to bed at night, he’s the opponent I hate the most. I’ve fought many people, I have more than 30 MMA fights, but every time I think of him and [Daniel] Cormier, I feel anger.

Bruno Silva

Silva explained that his beef with Cormier stems from the Hall of Famer poking fun (pun not intended) at the controversial contest by wearing protective eyewear while co-hosting the UFC 300 weigh-in show with Weidman two weeks later.

Bruno Silva

Bruno Silva plans to call out Chris Weidman at UFC 308

While Silva is booked for UFC 308, Weidman will return to action on November 16 for the promotion’s return to Madison Square Garden.

“[Weidman] is fighting a month after me, and my focus is on knocking this guy [Naurdiev], and then I’m calling him out on the mic,” Silva said. “I could ask for other opponents, but I like to deal with things my way. He’s fighting next month, and I have a score to settle with him. It’s personal. I’ll ask the UFC, and I hope they send him my way. He’s not on a great run, but he has a big name. He’s a former champion, and it brings good media. If we both win, maybe that’s interesting for the UFC. I want that fight back. But if that’s something that’s gonna slow me down, f*ck that dude.”

Bruno Silva

Days after their fight, Weidman suggested that Silva overreacted to the eye pokes and defended his return to the win column for the first time in nearly four years. Silva, on the other hand, has now lost three straight after coming up short against Brendan Allen and Shara Magomedov before meeting Weidman in The Garden State.

“My biggest mistake was that I respected Chris Weidman too much, and I’ll live with that for the rest of my life,” Silva said. “He deserved no respect. Even [coach Andre] Dida said I respected him way too much. The fight was over, we spoke in the locker room because I didn’t want any bad vibe. And then he grabs the mic and starts talking crap, him and Cormier. My God. Cormier, talk about an insufferable person.”

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Daniel Cormier Brands Aspinall The World’s Best Heavyweight Over Ngannou, Jones

Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier believes Tom Aspinall currently holds the global heavyweight crown over both Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou. The debate surrounding who sits top spot as the world’s best heavyweight has picked up again following a standout performance from Ngannou this past weekend in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Headlining a PFL pay-per-view, […]

Continue Reading Daniel Cormier Brands Aspinall The World’s Best Heavyweight Over Ngannou, Jones at MMA News.

Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier believes Tom Aspinall currently holds the global heavyweight crown over both Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou.

The debate surrounding who sits top spot as the world’s best heavyweight has picked up again following a standout performance from Ngannou this past weekend in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Headlining a PFL pay-per-view, “The Predator” debuted in the SmartCage by battering Renan Ferreira on the ground and rendering the Brazilian unconscious in the very first round. The result came in Ngannou’s first MMA bout since January 2022.

With the Cameroonian back in the discussion, he appears to be battling the UFC’s heavyweight champ, Jones, and his interim counterpart, Aspinall, for the global throne.

And although much of the discussion post-fight for Ngannou has centered around a long-desired clash with Jones, Cormier said during a recent episode of his Good Guy / Bad Guy show alongside Chael Sonnen on ESPN MMA‘s YouTube channel that they would be competing for silver.

After dismissing Ngannou’s claim to superiority over Jones and Aspinall, “DC” said he’d back the Englishman to beat both “The Predator” and “Bones,” leaving him as the best heavyweight in the world.

“I don’t believe he’s the best heavyweight, not Francis,” Cormier said. “I think the best heavyweight is Tom Aspinall, still. I still believe the best heavyweight in the world right now is Tom Aspinall. I think Jon is, but he’s older now. I think Aspinall’s still young, he’s fresh. There is something to not having everything yet. When you have everything, it’s hard, man. This guy Tom still doesn’t have everything. Sure, he’s headlined a couple of pay-per-view. But he’s not making seven figures every time he walks into the Octagon. He hasn’t been making a million dollars for 10 years like Jon Jones.

“I believe that Jones right now has everything. … There was a time he could go through anything to stay champion. Can he still do that? … Can he dig as deep as he did against Alexander Gustafsson?” Cormier continued. “Aspinall sure has a lot of questions, but when you look at these dudes all on paper, I would favor Tom to beat Francis, I would favor Tom to beat Stipe (Miocic), and I would actually favor Tom to beat Jon Jones right now.”

It remains to be seen what lies ahead in MMA for Ngannou, but given his position away from the UFC and the uncertainty surrounding suitable opposition, he may struggle to change the minds of those sharing Cormier’s sentiment.

Aspinall himself has cited Ngannou’s opponent options away from the Octagon as the reason why he doesn’t consider the Cameroonian a candidate for best-heavyweight status.

The Manchester native is confident that he holds that distinction, but he unfortunately won’t have the chance to prove it next time out. Much to his bemusement and the frustration of many fans, Jones won’t be unifying the title next month.

Instead, the former light heavyweight kingpin is set to put his gold on the line at UFC 309 against Miocic, who hasn’t competed since a knockout loss to Ngannou back in March 2021.

Continue Reading Daniel Cormier Brands Aspinall The World’s Best Heavyweight Over Ngannou, Jones at MMA News.

Julianna Peña Urges Fans To Rewatch UFC 307 Fight Without ‘Garbage’ Commentary

UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña believes commentary “bias” has played a part in the negative reaction to her title win earlier this month. Peña returned to the mountaintop at 135 pounds in the co-main event of the UFC 307 pay-per-view in Salt Lake City, outpointing longtime rival Raquel Pennington on two of the three […]

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UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Julianna Peña believes commentary “bias” has played a part in the negative reaction to her title win earlier this month.

Peña returned to the mountaintop at 135 pounds in the co-main event of the UFC 307 pay-per-view in Salt Lake City, outpointing longtime rival Raquel Pennington on two of the three judges’ scorecards.

The result, which came over two years on from “The Venezuelan Vixen’s” first reign being brought to an end by Amanda Nunes, caused considerable debate.

On MMA Decisions, 25 out of 27 media members scored the five-round contest in favor of Pennington. That sentiment was also shared by 78 percent of over 500 fan scorecards that were submitted.

The newly crowned queen has been left bemused by the post-fight ‘robbery’ narratives, and she seemingly placed blame on the commentary team during an appearance on the debut episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned.

Peña branded the commentary “garbage” while reiterating the reasons why she’s confident that four of the five rounds were won by her.

“When you throw less and land more, when you’re giving the other girl a bloody nose and a goose egg on her head, when you’re taking her down, when you’re frickin’ making her eyes get as big as plates because you’re hitting her so hard and rocking her sh*t…you can’t tell me that I lost the fight,” Peña said. “I won that fight, and I’m so sick of all these people trying to like, make me feel like I didn’t win.

“Rewatch the fight without all the commentary bias and you will see clearly that I won that fight,” Peña continued. “Obviously all of the frickin’ MMA media hates my guts. … Every single one of them scored it against me. They need to go rewatch it without all that frickin’ garbage commentary and look at the significant strikes. I threw less and I landed more and they were harder shots. Rewatch it, please!”

Alongside the controversy regarding the scoring, the other major topic to emerge from Peña’s title win is the next step in the bantamweight division.

While Kayla Harrison’s victory over Ketlen Vieira on the UFC 307 card has left her as the consensus number one contender, “The Venezuelan Vixen” seemingly has other plans, frequently looking to entice Amanda Nunes back to complete their trilogy instead.

Continue Reading Julianna Peña Urges Fans To Rewatch UFC 307 Fight Without ‘Garbage’ Commentary at MMA News.

Former UFC Champ Highlights ‘Weirdest Thing’ About Fighting Alex Pereira

Alex Pereira will defend his UFC light heavyweight champion against Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 this weekend. Winning would help him break Ronda Rousey’s record and make him the UFC champion to defend their belt three times in the shortest duration. Pereira’s rise to the top of the sport is unprecedented. He got a title […]

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Alex Pereira will defend his UFC light heavyweight champion against Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 this weekend. Winning would help him break Ronda Rousey’s record and make him the UFC champion to defend their belt three times in the shortest duration.

Pereira’s rise to the top of the sport is unprecedented. He got a title shot at Israel Adesanya after just three fights in the UFC and bagged the middleweight championship by knocking out the long-time champ in the fifth.

After his only UFC loss to “The Last Stylebender”, “Poatan” has continued his impressive run in the light heavyweight division. According to Daniel Cormier, fighting the Brazilian is a huge mental challenge as well, and Rountree might be already doing better than the likes of Jamahal Hill and Ji?í Procházka…

Daniel Cormier Gives Khalil Rountree The Edge Over Jamahal Hill And Ji?í Procházka Ahead Of UFC 307 Title Fight Against Alex Pereira

Cormier interviewed Rountree on his YouTube channel recently. When asked about the odds heavily favoring the champion, Rountree stated that people underestimate him because he doesn’t talk trash and is usually respectful during interviews.

To this, Cormier couldn’t help but bring up how fighters act unusual before taking on Pereira. Hill used several antics to try and get into the UFC light heavyweight kingpin’s head, with DC recalling him trying to break the arrow during Pereira’s walkout at UFC 300. Following the KO loss, Hill has been called out by fans for making excuses as well.

Prochazka, who’s lost twice to Pereira, recently claimed that the Brazilian uses black magic and spirits to beat his opponents. For someone as stoic as the Czech fighter, these claims were called strange by many.

Rountree, according to Cormier, doesn’t seem to be acting unusual leading up to his UFC 307 title fight. He’s still the nice guy in interviews and isn’t feeling the pressure of facing an intimidating opponent like Pereira.

“That’s you, right? That’s you! But, the weirdest thing about Pereira and dealing with Pereira, people start to act like not themselves. So, when he was walking to the Octagon, Jamahal Hill was like reaching over the cage like come on! He’s like very animated. Ji?í Procházka is just doing all kind of weird s**t. Jiri doing all kind of crazy s**t up in there. He’s doing this, he’s doing.. Jiri’s just not acting like himself, right?”

Continue Reading Former UFC Champ Highlights ‘Weirdest Thing’ About Fighting Alex Pereira at MMA News.