Daniel Cormier believes there is some hypocrisy when it comes to another UFC Hall of Famer’s critique of Ilia Topuria.
“El Matador” is the reigning UFC Lightweight Champion. He has emerged as one of the best fighters on the UFC roster, knocking out the likes of Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira. Topuria has won UFC gold in two weight classes, and he is undefeated.
Recently on the “Believe You Me” podcast, Michael Bisping and Paul Felder criticized Topuria for dismissing a potential title defense against Arman Tsarukyan. Bisping even compared Topuria to Jon Jones in terms of avoiding the next top challenger. Cormier hopped on his YouTube channel to take exception to Bisping’s comments, reminding “The Count” that he once avoided a worthy contender when he held UFC gold (via MMAJunkie).
“Michael, Paul, I understand the frustration,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “But Mike, you were on the championship side. You know when you were getting ready to fight Dan Henderson, you wanted some get-back on him, so you fought him. But if there was a bigger fight for you – Georges St-Pierre, for that matter – you took it, even though Yoel Romero, at the time, Mike, was probably the more justified No. 1 contender. The bigger fight was GSP, and you took it. I get the frustration, but think about the champion’s side, too.”
Many believe that Tsarukyan would be Topuria’s toughest test to date, as he would test “El Matador’s” grappling. The problem is, “Akhalkalakets” isn’t exactly out of the UFC’s doghouse after pulling out of a scheduled title fight with Islam Makhachev earlier this year. It might leave the door open for Topuria to fight other contenders such as Justin Gaethje, Paddy Pimblett, or even a rematch with Holloway.
BJPenn.com will keep you updated on the UFC lightweight title picture.
