Daniel Cormier does not condone Usman Nurmagomedov’s behavior.
On Wednesday, Usman Nurmagomedov made headlines when he attacked Merab Dvalishvili after running into him before RAF Abu Dhabi, leading to a brawl that left Dvalishvili bloodied
. The attack quickly earned immense backlash from most of the MMA community, including from teammate Daniel Cormier.Cormier has known Usman Nurmagomedov for years, with the Team Nurmagomedov training frequently with American Kickboxing Academy. But despite their
friendship, Cormier had no positive things to say about Nurmagomedov’s actions.
“I watch these situations happen, and I watch professional fighters make decisions that, at times, can be very damaging and dangerous,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “Today, I saw dangerous actions. I saw Usman Nurmagomedov and a group of guys jump Merab Dvalishvili. Watching that visual was actually very sad, because I know Usman; I know Merab. I know that there’s a lot of bad blood between these two camps. I also know that it should never lead to behavior like we saw today.
“Emotions run high, but I think — and this is me talking about this, even after fighting Jon Jones in the lobby of the MGM Grand, and pursuing fights in so many situations — emotions run high in rivalries. At times, I was guilty of bad behavior. But today was really bad, and it should never happen. We as fighters should not fear or worry about our safety whenever we go to places to do other things.”
Usman is the elder brother of UFC bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov, who has a heated rivalry with Dvalishvili. That rivalry recently boiled over yet again when Dvalishvili slapped one of Umar’s friends at the RAF Georgia event in July. Nurmagomedov’s teammate, Islam Makhachev, cited this event as the inciting incident for Nurmagomedov’s actions this week, but Cormier doesn’t care much about that argument.
“One bad action should not lead to another bad action, because now both of these guys lose in this situation,” Cormier said. “Merab was there to wrestle in RAF; now he’s probably not going to get to compete. Usman is a free agent … this thing will stick with him for as long as his career goes now. There is no winning in this situation.
“Conor McGregor attacked Khabib Nurmagomedov on a bus at a fight. Conor McGregor said some really, really negative things about Khabib. They never fought outside of the octagon. I think this thing stems from a lot of the things that these guys say about each other: Umar and Merab. Obviously, the trash talk has become so personal, but at the end of the day, it cannot look like that, because you have to imagine that there is going to be some sort of consequence, because you can not live a life with no consequence. We are not free to operate and do anything we want without repercussions. And unfortunately, there will be repercussions.
“One, Merab’s not getting to make his money this weekend in RAF. Two, Usman is going to be in some real big trouble for this, and deservedly so. You cannot do that. We are professionals. It’s dangerous. It’s very dangerous to fight in real life. … Because as a professional fighter, you’re not just swinging for the fences like the average Joe. You’re going to strike with intention. … It’s dangerous. We have to be better. In everything, we have to be better.”
And Cormier thinks he won’t be alone. Khabib Nurmagomedov attacked Dillon Danis after beating Conor McGregor at UFC 229, starting perhaps the most famous brawl in MMA history, and in his post-fight press conference, he immediately let it be known that his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, would be very displeased with him. Cormier thinks something similar is in store for Usman.
“I’m not trying to spin and protect anything: a bad behavior is a bad behavior,” Cormier said. “It’s unfortunate. I hate seeing stuff like this. I hate seeing Usman with that behavior, in general. I can’t believe that happened. I really can’t. And I’d imagine, I really would imagine, that when Khabib gets to him and speaks to him, Khabib will have a talking to him, about his actions and how they affect him now, and how they affect him down the line, because I don’t think anyone can really look at that and think that’s an acceptable behavior.
“And honestly, I think Usman, when he looks back at this, he’s going to regret what he did, because that is a behavior that should be regretted.”
Usman Nurmagomedov has yet to issue a statement since the incident, though he has already been banned from attending RAF Abu Dhabi this weekend. And while Cormier has made it clear that Usman’s behavior is unacceptable, he also thinks RAF plays a role in this, given how common behavior like this is becoming at its events.
“And honestly, I’ve got to tell you, RAF, the organization — which I love what they’re doing for wrestling — we’ve got to tighten it up,” Cormier said. “Because the environment now has fostered that type of behavior, from Dillon Danis fighting with Arman [Tsarukyan], to Khamzat [Chimaev], to all the fights that are now surrounding these events. They’ve fostered this idea that that behavior is acceptable. …
“We, as an organization, have to do better and not allow for those behaviors to happen, because then it will not allow for these athletes to do those things.”
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VIDEO STEW
Between the Links with Luke Thomas.
UFC 334 Faceoffs.
UFC 334 Press Conference.
Anything But Fighting: Wonderboy.
Reacting to the UFC 334 presser.
UFC 334 Embedded, Episode 4.
FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR
No Bets Barred.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
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FEED ME MORE
Referee.
FINAL THOUGHTS
UFC 334 appears to be a good card on paper. Maybe not the same level of cache as some other MSG cards, but still a damn good time. Let’s enjoy it.
EXIT POLL
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