Daniel Cormier told 'You're not very tough' by MMA legend during debate over Merab Dvalishvili's cut
08/26/2024 10:24 AM
Daniel Cormier was told ‘You’re not very tough’ by an MMA legend after the pair disagreed on whether the cut Merab Dvalishvili sustained in training will impact his fight with Sean O’Malley.
The bantamweight title clash will take place at UFC 306 on September 14 in the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Ben Askren tells Daniel Cormier ‘You’re not tough enough’
In just a matter of weeks, Merab Dvalishvili will take on Sean O’Malley in the biggest fight of his life.
With a UFC championship on the line, the Georgian will do everything it takes to not just claim the belt, but silence his rival, who hasn’t held back on the trash talk during the build-up to the contest.
However, it looks like the gifted athlete could be heading into the all-important fight with an injury, after he uploaded a video to his Instagram of a cut above his eye.
While many are now counting him out, Ben Askren doesn’t think it’s a major issue and even went as far as to say Daniel Cormier wasn’t ‘tough enough’ for his verdict on the matter.
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In the latest installment of Funky and the Champ, the pair engaged in a heated argument.
Askren said: “I sure don’t understand why you can’t just fight with a cut’. If you get a cut in training and you’re willing to say, ‘I’m willing to step into the octagon with a disadvantage’, what’s the problem?”
Cormier answered: “Because you can’t go into a fight with a cut, Ben.” Not accepting that, the former Bellator champion pushed: “But give me a reason, not that it’s just a rule.”
‘DC’ explained: “Merab Dvalishvili has a bad cut. The moment Sean O’Malley hits that thing, the cut opens up even more. Now, you’ve got a guy that’s so limited from the very start of the fight. That’s not how fighting works.”
Disagreeing, Askren pointed out: “If your eye is swollen over here (Points to the side of his eye) that’s not going to affect you. I’ve been in fights; I’ve had cuts. If it’s over here, it’s going to drain this way; it’s not going to affect you.”
A frustrated Cormier added: “Ben, I’m trying to tell you. When I fought Alexander Gustafsson. I had a cut here and here (points above and below the eye). Every single time he touched it, it felt like somebody was pouring alcohol on it.”
With a huge smile on his face, the former ONE Championship King beamed: “But that’s because you’re not very tough,” before releasing an enormous howl of laughter.
The former 2x UFC title-holder fumed: “Have you ever been cut in a fight? It hurts so bad. It doesn’t hurt you?”
Askren exclaimed: “It’s a fight; the whole point is to hurt them.”
Cormier concluded by saying that: “You have to be sparring to fight a guy like Sean O’Malley.”
Dana White fumes with Merab Dvalishvili for uploading a video of his cut
Ultimately, whether the cut will play a part in the fight or not, Dana White is still furious with Dvalishvili for posting about it online.
When asked about the situation during a press conference, he raged: "The whole world knows about Merab's cut, he posted it. Our guys are so dumb; it's next-level unbelievable.
"All the stuff that I [criticize] about boxing, what I will give boxing is when something happens in a camp… Man, let me tell you what: It does not leak.
"Our guys can't f***ing wait to throw it up on social media. It's a small cut; it's no big deal, but obviously needed to be posted."
“And why the f*** would you want [O'Malley] to know that?
"It is next-level stupid. Some of these guys are so stupid, it's mind-boggling. It's unbelievable."
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