Cormier Owns His UFC 333 Fumble: The Truck Put Song in His Ear

Daniel Cormier has owned up to his UFC 333 fumble — and the explanation is simpler, and stranger, than a grudge.

In the co-main event at UFC 333, bantamweight champion Petr Yan defended his title with a unanimous decision win over Merab Dvalishvili, completing their trilogy. Stepping into the cage for the post-fight interview, Cormier pointed to Song Yadong, who was sitting in the crowd, as a next contender for Yan. He did not mention Sean O'Malley.

That omission landed badly. O'Malley had beaten Song earlier this year by unanimous decision at UFC 324, and he and his head coach, Tim Welch, were bothered by Cormier's handling of the moment. Many fans saw O'Malley — a former champion who has beaten both Yan and Song — as the obvious next challenger.

Days later, Cormier had O'Malley on his YouTube channel and cleared the air. His answer had two parts, and he did not hide either of them.

First, the truck. Cormier said the production team was talking to him through his earpiece as the interview unfolded, telling him Song was in the building and about to be shown on screen. His words, verbatim:

"The other day, Petr Yan defends his title, and Song Yadong is in the arena, and I said, 'Well, Song Yadong is right there,' because if I'm being completely honest with you, the truck is in my ear saying, 'We're going to show Song,' so then obviously I'm going to say Song Yadong is right there in the arena,"

Second, the lapse. Cormier admitted that, in that moment, he had simply forgotten O'Malley's win over Song:

"Like I said, Song Yadong is in the building. You have beat Song Yadong, and honestly, in that moment, I actually forgot that you beat Song Yadong. You got a victory over Song Yadong, and then you got a victory, obviously, at the White House. And after the White House, if you watch the fight, me, Joe (Rogan) Jon (Anik), and I believe we're saying we think Sean should fight for the belt right now, but that didn't happen,"

Welch, Cormier said, had taken offence — and Cormier told O'Malley he would be talking to the coach on his podcast the next day. He had already messaged O'Malley directly, and O'Malley's reply, as Cormier relayed it, was blunt and friendly: "I don't take it personally; there's no deal. It is what it is."

O'Malley, for his part, admitted he had wondered in the early part of his career whether Cormier wanted to see him lose. He put that feeling in a different frame now, pointing to the sheer length of a broadcast night: commentators sit for eight, nine, ten hours, every fight, every card, and are bound to say something they do not mean, or that comes off the wrong way.

The two men ended the conversation with no animosity, according to MMA Junkie. Cormier now sees O'Malley as the most deserving challenger for Yan and regrets not mentioning him at UFC 333. O'Malley himself is not waiting for permission to believe it. "Me vs. Petr is happening next. It just is. I refuse to believe otherwise," he said.

That confidence is O'Malley's, not an announcement. Nothing has been announced for Yan's next defence, and the choice itself is not Cormier's to make. As Heavy put it, it is ultimately up to the UFC matchmakers to decide whether O'Malley or Song is next for Yan. The fumble, at least, now has an explanation: a voice in the ear, a name on the screen, and a win that slipped Cormier's mind in the loudest moment of the night.