Daniel Cormier is aware of the backlash he received for his comments on Fedor Emelianenko.
Cormier recently expressed his belief that Emelianenko wouldn’t have been elite if he joined the UFC back in 2009. Many took this as “DC” disrespecting a legend while following UFC President Dana White’s rhetoric. Cormier insisted that this is not the case.
Daniel Cormier Clarifies Fedor Emelianenko Comments
Daniel Cormier took to his YouTube channel to say that he simply said he didn’t think Fedor could be effective in the UFC during a certain time frame, not during his prime.
“We had a conversation about whether or not Fedor could rule the UFC in the way that he did in Pride and all the other organizations he fought in prior. I said no but I was very specific in the time frame. I didn’t say the 2005, ’04, ’03, ’06 Fedor couldn’t, ’07, ’08. I didn’t say that. I said in a window of ’09 to ’12, I didn’t think that he would be as good as he had shown to be prior. I don’t understand how this ruffled so many people’s feathers. Why? Because it was proven in that time frame that he wasn’t as effective. It’s that simple.”
‘DC’ Thinks Fedor Is The Heavyweight GOAT
Daniel Cormier went on to say that when it comes to MMA heavyweights, no one tops Fedor on the all-time list.
“All that being said, I still believe Fedor Emelianenko is the greatest heavyweight of all time. Love Stipe, Stipe’s the best UFC Heavyweight of all time. The wins Fedor had in Pride over the likes of Nogueira and all those guys, Arlovski, hats off to you bud. I don’t mind that, I don’t mind that guys. I like Fedor. The fact that he’s still fighting at 45 and knocking out guys like Tim Johnson, hats off to the GOAT. I have no issues with the man. I’m talking about a specific window in which I don’t believe, in my opinion, Daniel, that he would be as effective as he was in the years earlier.”
Emelianenko is fresh off a first-round knockout victory over Tim Johnson at Bellator 269. Fedor returned to Russia for the fight. He has one more bout left on his Bellator deal.
