Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier has fully transitioned from fighting to commentating, and “DC” recently reacted to criticism he’s received.
Whether it be Tony Ferguson saying Cormier is “bagging” on him whenever he fights, fans calling him biased or fellow commentator Dominick Cruz slamming him for not doing “the homework,” DC is no stranger to criticism.
And Cormier made it clear that he’s “not apologizing for doing” his job. That’s what he told MMA Junkie in a recent interview, also sharing some advice he received from the promotion’s longest-tenured color analyst, Joe Rogan.
“Indifference is a problem,” Cormier said via the outlet. “I’ve taken that from my fighting career where people were kind of divided on me. You had the guys that cheered and the people that booed and it’s the same thing with commentary. I know how hard I work at this. I know how much time I spend preparing for this. I know (what) I try to give these guys and tell their stories and do them justice. Sometimes, people just don’t see what you see and that’s really on them. But I’m not apologizing for doing my job, and I think that’s the beauty in being a fighter.
“People can be mad at you, but it’s like we just gotta talk about it, right? I’m not a guy that – they gotta move a little different around me. I don’t really worry about it too much. Rogan told me, I was on some, ‘Ah the fans, this, this’ and then Rogan said it on air. He goes, ‘Oh, you gotta be careful with our bias commentary.’ He just doesn’t care. He just does not care because the reality is it does not matter. You’re put in a position to do a job that is very, very difficult and very few people in the world can do it, so you do it to the best of your ability.”
Cormier Said He Doesn’t Commentate ‘With a Bias’ & His Commentary Is Sometimes Slanted Toward His Teammates’ Opponents
DC continued with his thoughts on the matter. He said that when he’s cageside, he’s watching contests without “a bias.” In fact, if Cormier’s teammates are fighting while he’s commentating, he said that he’ll slant his commentary to favor their opponents.
“I don’t watch this with a bias,” Cormier said. “If my teammates are fighting, I hope that they win. But unfortunately when that happens, I tend to go the opposite way. Blagoy (Ivanov) was mad at me after his last fight because he he was like, ‘DC, bro, I was doing good things, but you almost made it seem like…’ I tend to go the opposite way to try not to. Deron Winn when he’s fighting he’s like ‘Dude.’ It’s hard because you’re a human being. That’s why at a point I can sympathize with the referees and the judges because they’re human beings.”
Cormier Will Call the Fights on Saturday at UFC 275
On June 11, UFC 275 will go down and Cormier will be calling the fights. He’ll sit beside former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping and the promotion’s lead play-by-play commentator, Jon Anik.
The event will be held live in Singapore at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. UFC 275 is topped off with a title tilt between reigning 205-pound champion Glover Teixeira and surging Jiri Prochazka.
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UFC Commentator Daniel Cormier Reacts to Criticism From Fans & Fighters