Daniel Cormier responds to hypocrisy criticism after ripping Gable Steveson for bad sportsmanship at UFC 331

Daniel Cormier got called out for his criticism of Gable Steveson.

This past weekend, Steveson fought for the second time in the UFC, getting knocked out by Sean Sharaf in 12 seconds at UFC 331. Given Steveson’s disrespectful posture before the fight, the MMA community did not go easy on the Olympic gold medalist, especially when Steveson left the cage following his loss, declining to stay for the official decision, as is customary. Cormier, Joe Rogan, and others ripped Steveson for being an “ungrateful loser”, with Cormier specifically saying Steveson should sit there and take his lumps as he did; but there’s one problem: Cormier didn’t exactly do that.

Various MMA social media accounts (h/t Combat Wire MMA) were quick to pull footage of Cormier’s knockout loss to Jon Jones at UFC 214 (later overturned to a no-contest after Jones failed a drug test), where a despondent Cormier refused to stand for the decision.

On Tuesday, Cormier responded to the backlash, saying he didn’t even realize he’d done the same thing he chastised Steveson for.

“Wait I did that?

“Honestly this is what I mean when I say I remember nothing from after the kick landed until I got into the ambulance and 9 years later I still can’t find the memory. Every time I see something from that night post knockout it’s the first time I’ve seen it. That’s crazy.”

In response to the controversy around Steveson’s exit, Jones, his coach and mentor, took responsibility for the decision, saying he simply wanted to get Steveson backstage to check on him. Steveson himself is yet to comment on the loss or controversy.