Retired UFC fighter Daniel Cormier has responded to Nate Diaz‘s criticism of his comments about Diaz potentially headlining UFC 306, stating that he respects Diaz but disagrees with his disrespectful language and questioning of Cormier’s fighting credentials.
Daniel Cormier, though retired, still finds himself in the midst of controversies. Earlier this week, he responded to Nate Diaz’s idea of headlining UFC 306. Cormier wasn’t exactly thrilled about it. He thinks other fighters deserve the main event more.
Diaz, of course, didn’t take this lightly. He posted his rebuttal to Cormier, saying, “This b**** is not a fighter. Complete opposite. Good talk DC.” Cormier, naturally, had to respond.
“First off, I have no problem with Nate Diaz,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “I don’t really know Nate. I’ve always respected him for what he did inside the octagon. But I’m not a b****. When did it become OK for men to start calling each other outside their name like that? It’s not cool, man. You don’t get to just talk to people any way you want.”
This isn’t the first time Cormier has had to address an attack this week. He defended himself from jokes Jon Jones made at his expense, which led to his comments about Diaz. Cormier wasn’t a fan of Jones’ comments, but he says they were still acceptable because they had the chance to fight each other.
“When I was talking about Jones the other day, I was laughing, I was joking,” Cormier said. “Jones talked his s*** when I was fighting. We had the opportunity to go into the octagon and settle our stuff. That’s why Jones and I had interactions outside of the octagon on so many occasions, because I was still fighting.”
In his retirement, Cormier finds it odd that he has more beefs and more people coming at him than even when he 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.”
Cormier was also 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?”
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.”