Former 2-weight champion, and now an esteemed commentator for the UFC, Daniel Cormier is one of the very few fighters who have held titles in two divisions simultaneously. The UFC Hall of Famer is infamous for his love for food, often seen enjoying a favorite meal and making food jokes among friends. But his love for food has always come with consequences, often leading Cormier into weight issues before fights and struggles in weight cuts. In 2017, at UFC 210, Daniel Cormier submitted Anthony Johnson in their second encounter with a rear-naked choke to defend his UFC Light-Heavyweight Championship. But what happened before the fight was something that left the MMA community divided.
During the weigh-in, DC couldn’t make the 205-lb limit on his first few attempts, following which he had no options but to weigh in naked behind a towel to finally make the weight. Eagle-eyed observers alleged he held the towel to manipulate the scales and fans wasted no time in accusing DC of cheating at the weigh-in, and it left a stain on one of the most illustrious careers seen in MMA. Recently, UFC Hall of Famer and former UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping discussed the incident on his YouTube channel and defended the UFC Hall of Famer.
Bisping said, “And this kind of goes back to what Tito used to say:”If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.” The Count gave fans a perspective from the eyes of a fighter, emphasizing that ‘DC’ didn’t have malicious intentions when he held the towel on the scale.
‘The Count’ further added, “When Daniel Cormier walked out of that wing, he wasn’t thinking about trying to cheat. He thought that he was on weight and he obviously miscalculated it a little bit. He stepped on the scale he’s watching it, and they’re like ‘No, you’re a little bit over.’ And then just in his mind he’s like ‘Hold on a minute. If I put my hands on the towel that’s going to support the weight of his arms and he will become a little bit lighter.’”
Nov 1, 2018 – New York, New York, U.S. – DANIEL CORMIER during UFC 230 Media Day at Madison Square Garden. UFC 230: Media Day – ZUMAs277 20181101_tim_s277_005 Copyright: xJasonxSilvax
Addressing this, Daniel Cormier once hilariously confirmed to the accusation. While accepting his UFC Hall of Famer award, DC chose to drop this bomb of a revelation as he said farewell to the Octagon! A hilarious way to address a controversy indeed—a reason why DC will always earn love and respect from this community, a top-tier athlete, and an even better person.
But his broadcast team colleague isn’t the only one Michael Bisping stood up for against the accusations of cheating. Ahead of the co-main event of UFC 314, ‘The Count’ gave his thoughts on the cheating allegations leveled at Michael Chandler.
Michael Bisping defends Michael Chandler on cheating allegations
There are different kinds of cheating in the UFC. There’s the use of PEDs. Manipulation of the scales during the weigh-ins using the “towel technique” is the second. While these two are visibly frowned upon, there’s a third that fans absolutely hate—pulling dirty moves to win in the Octagon to win. That’s exactly what Michael Chandler has been accused of, repeatedly no less.
Against Dustin Poirier at UFC 281, ‘Iron’ Mike allegedly fish-hooked ‘The Diamond’ while trying to raise his head to sink in the rear-naked choke. That was apart from the fact that he blew blood and snot on Poirier in the fight. And then at UFC 309, Chandler was accused of throwing multiple shots to the back of Charles Oliveira’s head. Now, ahead of his fight against Paddy Pimblett in the co-main event of UFC 314, fans are once again pointing fingers at Michael Chandler.
In all of this, Michael Bisping came to the rescue of Chandler, stating that he doesn’t think the American fighter is a cheater. He said, “Is Michael Chandler a cheater? I don’t think he is. I think he’s a hell of a fighter. And that’s why we tune in. And you know what, I think he’s got his hands full this weekend against Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett’”
So what do you think? Is Michael Chandler a cheater or “dirty fighter”? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.
The post “He Wasn’t Thinking About Trying to Cheat” – Michael Bisping Defends Daniel Cormier’s Infamous Trick to Make Weight For UFC 210 Fight appeared first on EssentiallySports.
