Getty Daniel Cormier
Former UFC two-division-champion-turned commentator Daniel Cormier recently hit back at Darren Till who suggested “DC” shouldn’t work during the upcoming lightweight title affair between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev.
Oliveira and Makhachev will battle for the vacant 155-pound strap as the headlining act for UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
DC and Makhachev are longtime teammates and Till took to Twitter on Friday, writing: “Charles Vs Islam. What a fight. Just don’t let DC commentate.”
The tweet elicited a response from DC, who wrote that he expected “better” from the UFC middleweight star. Cormier also pointed to the fact that he has worked the commentary booth for teammates in the past.
“Darren I expect better from you. I’ve called multiple teammates fights,” Cormier tweeted. “And honestly my commentary doesn’t affect the judges or anything honestly. Most times my team is mad at me because they feel I am too much in other direction. Do better Till!”
Till then replied to DC, stating that he was kidding and only posted the tweet to receive engagement.
“I was just joking, I only said it for likes and retweets,” Till tweeted. “Hope to see you there commentating.”
Cormier Said He Doesn’t Commentate ‘With a Bias,” Will Go the ‘Opposite Way’ When Working A Teammate’s Fight
During an interview with MMA Junkie in June, Cormier addressed criticism aimed at him for being biased toward teammates. DC laid out that he doesn’t slant his commentary to favor his teammates. In fact, Cormier said he usually gives the other fighter inside the Octagon more shine.
“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.”
Makhachev Recently Said He Plans to Take Down Oliveira ‘Very Fast’
Oliveira versus Makhachev is arguably the most anticipated title fight in mixed martial arts right now. Both men are at the top of their games and the UFC’s 155-pound division is viewed by many as the toughest in the sport.
Oliveira, who was forced to vacate his belt earlier this year due to a botched weight cut, is coming off a first-round submission victory over Justin Gaethje. He’s on an 11-fight win streak which includes finishes over Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler.
Makhachev is on a 10-fight victory streak and in his last outing, he took out Bobby Green via first-round TKO in February. And during a recent interview with Cormier on the “DC & RC” show, Makhachev said that he planned to take “Do Bronx” to the mat “very fast.”
“I’m going to take him down very fast,” Makhachev said via MMA Junkie. “Listen, he finished all of his opponents and all his opponents are strikers. But Tony Ferguson has a little bit of grappling – he cannot finish him. Tony Ferguson a hard fight for him. They fought all five rounds because Tony Ferguson knows something about grappling – not too much, but he knows something.
“Of course I really believe (I’ll win) because he lose in the UFC seven times. He’s not going to be upset if he lose one more time. People finish him seven times in the UFC and this guy champion in my division. I’m very upset because of this.”