UFC commentators Daniel Cormier and Joe Rogan have been accused of biased fight-calling.
Cody Stamann was a significant underdog against streaking French star Tom Duquesnoy almost two weeks ago but, following a grinding performance, Stamann saw his hand raised with a split decision at UFC 216.
And while Stamann has plenty to be proud of after the biggest win of his career, one aspect of the fight did not sit well with the 27-year-old.
When he sat down to re-watch the fight, Stamann couldn’t believe how it was represented by the men sat in the commentary booth, and he wants an apology from both Cormier and Rogan.
“As soon as it came out, I watched it,” Stamann told MMA Fighting. “I had my phone hooked up to my Bluetooth, I was with a few people and I was listening to the commentary, and now by the end of the first round I was frustrated enough to want to throw my phone through a wall after what they were saying.
“They were talking about Duquesnoy, where he trains, and I’m taking him down, hitting him with combinations and they’re not saying anything about that. I felt like Daniel Cormier and Joe Rogan owe me a little bit of an apology.
“I felt like they were way more biased than they normally would be and I’m really not one to complain about that kind of stuff, but I was like, holy cow.
“I’ve had probably a hundred different people tell me that exact same thing, they were really loving Tom Duquesnoy for those first two rounds but in the third round they didn’t say his name again. So I guess I’m happy that I won them over, but at the same time that’s not their job to be that biased.”
In the past, Rogan has admitted that he has to suppress the temptation to allow favouritism to creep into his commentary, particularly when it comes to his close friends.
“I’m biased towards a lot of guys. I’m biased towards Chad Mendes. I love that dude. I think he’s a great guy,” Rogan said on his podcast.
“But when they’re fighting, damn dude, I try to let all that shit slide away. I try to look at it as objectively as possible.”
Cormier, meanwhile, didn’t hesitate to come out and offer a no-nonsense apology to Stamann.
@CodyStamann I apologize!!!!
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) October 16, 2017
