Daniel Cormier Faces More Backlash Over Commentary Bias as Darren Till Joins Dominick Reyes

Former UFC two-division champion Daniel Cormier has found himself in hot water once again, with two marquee fighters calling him out over his commentary bias. In late October, light heavyweight Dominick Reyes criticized DC after sensing his favoritism. Now, former UFC fighter Darren Till has joined the backlash, accusing the Louisiana native of picking sides in the commentary booth.

“It’s not that I don’t like him; I just see right through his bulls—t,” Till told Ariel Helwani. “I wouldn’t say it to his face, mind you, because he’s a f—g animal of a fighter. But you can just see through his bulls—t. Any guy who’s got the second name Magomedov, he’s just always biased.

“He’s a company man… I can smell that bulls–t from over this corner of the world. I’ve got no time for that whatsoever.”

Darren Till’s criticism of Daniel Cormier’s perceived bias in the commentary comes on the heels of a heated exchange between ‘DC’ and Dominick Reyes not too long ago.

‘The Devastator’ pulled off a stylish win over Azamat Murzakanov at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi on October 24. The victory over Murzakanov marked Reyes’ second consecutive win, and he was understandably ecstatic about it. However, what left the Californian upset was Daniel Cormier’s commentary.

Following his win, the 36-year-old took to X and wrote that he found it annoying that Cormier had called him a “kid” during the bout. The former champion eventually responded, assuring Reyes that he had no “negative” intentions behind the remark.

This prompted Dominick Reyes to reveal that his frustration with Cormier stemmed from the Louisiana native’s commentary during his fight against Murzakanov. Reyes also mentioned that Paul Felder had called out Cormier as well, only for the former champion to brush it off with a laugh.

“My name is Dominick, not Kid,” Reyes wrote. “Yeah, I heard your commentary tonight on my fight. How about the part where Paul called you out for your clear bias? And what did you do? You laughed about it. No, I don’t know where to find you?? I’ve literally never seen you anywhere other than around the cage or in the cage post-fight.”

For years, Daniel Cormier maintained friendly relationships with Russian fighters such as Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev, who were also his training partners at American Kickboxing Academy (AKA). Because of these ties, ‘DC’ often gets accused of being biased toward fighters from the Caucasus region.

Reyes and Till both felt that Cormier’s commentary was favoring Azamat Murzakanov, a Russian fighter that prompted them to slam the former champion. However, this is not the first time Cormier has come under scrutiny for his commentary.

One of the UFC’s most prominent fighters has previously accused Cormier of biased commentary as well.

In 2021, Justin Gaethje opened up about his good friend Daniel Cormier’s biased commentary during Islam Makhachev’s fight against Dan Hooker at UFC 267. Despite the Dagestani submitting Hooker in the first round, ‘The Highlight’ felt Cormier could have shown a little more nuance in his commentary before showering praise on his teammate.

“Yeah (Makhachev’s win) was impressive. Sucks for Dan, late replacement. He wasn’t the guy coming off a full camp for Islam. That’s what that was,” said Gaethje as per MMA Mania. “(Cormier) was incredibly biased.

“At the end of the day, I love Cormier. I felt it was my job that night to tweet and call it out because that’s what I saw. Outside that, it doesn’t matter. I think he knows that he should be in an unbiased mindset when he’s doing this, and I would hope that’s important to him.”

While Daniel Cormier has been rightfully called out by fighters over his commentary bias, particularly toward Russian fighters, there is a reason why such criticism arises.

Cormier has spent years training alongside Khabib, Islam, and other fighters at AKA. Moreover, he shares good relationships with several UFC fighters. As a color commentator responsible for providing technical analysis during fights, ‘DC’ could understandably find it difficult to point out the flaws in the performances of those he shares a personal connection with.

Because of this, conflicting loyalties can sometimes create friction between Cormier and other fighters. Alongside the former two-division champion, his fellow commentator Paul Felder, who hails from Philadelphia, has also faced accusations of bias toward fighters from his hometown.

A play-by-play commentator like Jon Anik is relatively safer from such criticism because his role primarily involves calling the action, mentioning sponsorships, and providing commentary as fighters make their way to the Octagon.

So, there is undoubtedly a human element to Daniel Cormier’s perceived bias in the commentary booth. However, that does not mean commentators openly picking sides is acceptable.