Former UFC double champion Daniel Cormier has roasted welterweight contender Rinat Fakhretdinov, calling him a “moron” and advising him to “keep his head tucked down” before competing again in the octagon.
The ruthless response came after Rinat Fakhretdinov claimed that the commentary was so bad during his UFC 308 fight last weekend that it led fans to accuse the commission of ‘buying’ the officials off.
Daniel Cormier calls UFC welterweight a ‘moron’ over commentary comments
Back at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, Russian welterweight Rinat Fakhretdinov won a unanimous decision over Carlos Leal in a fight that almost everybody watching had scored either 29-28 or 30-27 for the Brazilian.
In fact, polling conducted by MMADecisions.com reports that 100% of media members had the fight going Leal’s way; with MMA Junkie stating that around 75% of viewers also scored the bout for Leal.
At the post-fight press conference, Fakhretdinov would slam Daniel Cormier, Jon Anik and Paul Felder as “really bad commentators,” later suggesting that “after your words, people will say again that the Arabs brought the decision.”
Those comments certainly haven’t sat well with Cormier, who took the opportunity to fire back at Fakhretdinov during a Q&A in Edmonton, Canada, ahead of UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs Albazi.
“I don’t know what this dude was talking about, I’m serious… Listen bro, he lost, and I don’t care how many times he complains.
“That’s the thing right, these fighters, they go and they fight – it was so clear that this guy lost the fight, he gets the microphone and he goes and sticks his foot in his mouth… That’s the problem, he’s a moron.”
Cormier argued that the unranked Russian “needs to recognize that he lost” in order to move forward both with the promotion and with the fans, before advising the 24-2-1 welterweight to keep his head down.
“Take it, just take it – you got gifted a win, take it. Just take it and keep your head tucked down until you fight somebody next time.”
It wasn’t just Cormier and the wider fanbase who were rocked by the controversial decision, with fighters and fellow commentators alike coming to Leal’s defense.
Former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill would write to his 100,000+ followers on X that Leal had been “robbed” of the win, whilst Jon Anik himself would also joke that he’d be willing to send money to the Brazilian.
“I think I’m going to Venmo Carlos Leal some cash later in the night,” Anik stated on the UFC 308 broadcast, adding “I feel so bad for the guy.”