Daniel Cormier may be retired from fighting, but he keeps finding himself in beefs nonetheless.
Earlier this week, Cormier went on his YouTube channel and responded to the idea floated by Nate Diaz that Diaz would come back to headline UFC 306 at The Sphere in Las Vegas. Cormier wasn’t keen on the idea, saying that while Diaz could be on the card, he believes that other fighters are more deserving of the main event. Unsurprisingly, Diaz did not take kindly to that, posting his rebuttal to Cormier on Thursday.
“This b**** is not a fighter. Complete opposite. Good talk DC.”
And so, of course, Cormier had to respond.
“First off, I have no problem with Nate Diaz,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “I have no issue. I don’t really know Nate. I’ve always respected Nate for what he did inside the octagon.
“I’m a lot of things, guys, but one thing I’m not is nobody’s b****. I’m not a b****. So my question is this: When did it become OK for men to start calling each other outside their name like that? When did that become OK? I don’t disrespect nobody in my assessment of them. I try my best to be as fair as I can. I don’t quite understand why people think it’s OK to attack you in that way, especially calling you outside your name like that. It’s not cool, man. You don’t get to just talk to people any way you want.”
This is the second attack this week that Cormier has felt the need to address. The UFC Hall of Famer went on his YouTube channel on Tuesday to defend himself from jokes Jon Jones made at his expense, which then ultimately led to his comments about Diaz. And while Cormier wasn’t a huge fan of Jones’ comments, he says that those were still acceptable because the two of them actually had the chance to fight each other.
“When I was talking about Jones the other day, I was laughing, I was joking, but I’m going to tell you one thing about Jones and me and the way that I’m perceived in the world today: Jones talked his s*** when I was fighting,” Cormier said. “Jones talks his s*** today, that’s cool. I respect that because we had the opportunity to go into the octagon and settle our stuff. That’s why though, Jones and I had interactions outside of the octagon on so many occasions, because I was still fighting.
“It’s very odd to me that in my retirement I have more beefs and more people coming at me than even when I was active. When I could do something about all the disrespect. Because right now I’m measured. … Any interactions between he and I was an altercation, because he was talking his stuff, I was talking my stuff so then we would come together and try to fight each other. Because that’s what happens when you start calling men outside their name like that.
“I knew that when I said something about that man, there was a possibility that there would be a reaction. I don’t have the ability to have those reactions right now. So it seems reckless that so many can be so disrespectful in the approach. I don’t get that. But I’m nobody’s b****.”
Aside from the name-calling, Cormier was also obviously upset with Diaz diminishing his career. Cormier is one of only nine two-division champions in UFC history, was the 2018 Fighter of the Year, and was inducted in the UFC Hall of Fame in 2022. In contrast, Diaz only fought for a title once, losing to Benson Henderson, and has a 16-11 record in the UFC, which Cormier noted made his comments seems a bit ridiculous.
“To say I’m not a fighter — I don’t get it,” Cormier said. “Again, I feel like actually, I was pretty fair to this dude. Because when you really think about it, to say I’m not a fighter, when you really think about it — Nate Diaz was fun, Nate Diaz got a championship opportunity. But if I’m not a fighter, what’s that make him? What does that make him? If I did what I did and he did what he did, what’s that make him?
“One time I was talking to Khabib [Nurmagomedov] when Nate was coming at Khabib, and Khabib said something to the effect of, ‘This man has lost 12 or 13 fights in his career. Daniel, I can’t respond to this guy. I can’t take this guy serious because who loses to that many people?’ How can you call me not a fighter when you have had those instances? What did I do? I fought the best. I fought the best in the world constantly. So to say I’m not a fighter because I have an opinion on whether or not I want to see him headline The Sphere?
“The reality is, one thing we will not do is compare myself to Nate Diaz, because it’s different levels. Much different. I’m a champion. Two weight classes. I lost three times in my career. Four if you count the fight that was called a no-contest. Four times, two guys. We are on much different wave lengths, we are on much different planets. We are not in the same stratosphere in terms of fighters. We’re not. And it’s time for me to stop allowing people to attack or come at me in these ways when I’m doing my job.”
Cormier reiterated multiple times that he’s not out here trying to fight Diaz, instead suggesting Diaz focus his energy on Jorge Masvidal, who is actively trying to fight him. Cormier simply wants Diaz to put some respect on his name, and ended by offering an open door policy for talking things out.
“I don’t have a problem with Nate Diaz,” Cormier said. “I don’t. He clearly has a problem with me. Gilroy is an hour and a half away from Stockton. I live here. I’m not trying to fight. I’m not going to be up there fighting this man in the streets, but we can always have a conversation if you have a problem with something I said. But to call me out by name like that … I fought the best. I very rarely had opportunities to fight guys that weren’t on my level. I can only imagine what my record would be if I did.
“So to wrap it up, Nate, here’s the deal — I don’t have a problem with you. If I see you, I’ll tip my hat to you. If you want to say something to me, come up to me. Tell me. Tell me what the issue is. We can discuss it like men. But I don’t really play all that b**** and other stuff. So lay off that. Lay off that and I’ll lay off you.”
