Getty UFC commentator Daniel Cormier exits the octagon.
UFC commentator Daniel Cormier says Petr Yan is considering leaving the promotion after his loss to Sean O’Malley.
The former interim bantamweight champion took on rising prospect O’Malley in the main card of UFC 280 this past Saturday. He went into the bout looking to get back on winning ways after dropping his title to the reigning champion Aljamain Sterling in his last outing at UFC 273 in April. Yan rocked O’Malley and landed some big shots but eventually got edged out by ‘Suga’ Sean in a razor-thin split decision.
Following the close-fought war, many fighters and fans took to social media to voice their disagreement with the outcome. ‘No Mercy’ was not pleased and took to Twitter to fire shots at the officials scoring the contest.
“F*** the judges,” wrote Yan.
In an episode of ESPN’s “DC & RC” show, Cormier shared a rumor that Yan was considering stepping away from the UFC after his loss to O’Malley.
“A little inside baseball, Petr Yan is so disappointed in this decision, Petr Yan is so disappointed in the decision against Aljo,” Cormier said. “I’m hearing word that this guy may want to look at something different down the line in terms of his career because he just does not feel like, maybe the organization doesn’t have his back. It’s crazy.”
Cormier Thought Yan Won the Fight but Believes O’Malley Proved Himself
The former two-division champion expected Yan to get the nod. He referenced the reaction of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was in attendance to corner his friend and protege Islam Makhachev in his main event title fight against Charles Oliveira at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
“There are no more questions as to whether or not this kid is all fluff and he’s all hype. He’s earned a massive amount of respect. But, I did believe that Yan won the fight. I thought Petr Yan did enough to win the fight. Speaking of Petr’s manager, he didn’t get to that point.”
Khabib can be seen in the video shocked at the announcement of the decision and asking his camp how the judges could have scored it the way it did.
“He actually thought they had won the fight comfortably. I watched Khabib’s reaction to the fight. He could not believe that it was even a split decision.”
Cormier Says O’Malley Was on Par With Yan
While there is a lot of controversy surrounding the fight, ‘DC’ believes O’Malley proved he could hang in with the most elite competition.
“So many people, including fighters around the world, have spoken since the decision and all of them agree they thought that Petr Yan won the fight,” he added. “They think the judges were judging the fight based on Sean O’Malley not supposed to be that competitive.
“So, they were giving him credit for the things he was doing even though they weren’t necessarily up to snuff to what Petr Yan was doing. I don’t know if I agree with that.”