‘I’m a Fighter and You Cannot Turn That Off’- Daniel Cormier Admits He Was Upset at Phil Hawes After Instigating Confrontation at UFC Austin

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier engaged in a contentious exchange with UFC middleweight Phil Hawes during the latter’s post-fight interview after UFC Austin. Chiefly, it was Hawes who flung out insults at Cormier as he had just finished Cormier’s AKA associate Deron Winn in the contest.

According to Hawes, Daniel Cormier had bet on the wrong pony and Phil Hawes was keen that ‘DC’ accept that his teammate had been soundly defeated.

However, Cormier wasn’t having any of it and quickly shut down Phil Hawes. He told Hawes to show some respect and also reminded Phil Hawes that he didn’t hold a win over him [Cormier]. Hawes was quick to apologize to ‘DC’ in the cage and later followed up his apology at the post-fight presser, asking Cormier not to ‘beat him up’.

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Daniel Cormier admits he lost the plot against Phil Hawes

Cormier recalled the incident and explained the exact thought process that Phil Hawes must have been going through after securing the flashiest win of his MMA career.

“So Phil is saying I picked the wrong opponent. So I say to Phil, ‘Do you think I pick fights? Do you think I make the fights?’ I go, ‘Phil, that’s ridiculous. I don’t make the fights, my friend. Be respectful. Be respectful.’

“Phil being the great guy that he is, he immediately gets that. Phil’s not a bad guy, that’s what people don’t understand. I hold no ill will towards Phil Hawes for last weekend. He’s high on adrenaline, he had the best performance of his entire career. He feels like King Kong, he feels great out there, he’s hyped up, he’s got this idea — probably something that has motivated him throughout the entire camp — to go and put me in my place because I picked him as Deron’s opponent. The reality is I didn’t do that.” [h/t mmafighting.com]

The Hall of Famer also admitted that he was upset with Phil Hawes’ statement and got fired up in the moment. However, Phil Hawes’ attempt to de-escalate the situation was well received by Cormier.

“Now at this point, I’m a little bit pissed off. Because I’m like, ‘Wow, what is going on here?’ I’m from Louisiana and I’m a fighter and you cannot turn that off. But Phil, to his defense, immediately recognizes that he may be in the wrong.”