Daniel Cormier defends UFC 200 performance against Anderson Silva: “I feel pretty good about it”

By Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Daniel Cormier (photo credit Joe Camporeale © USA Today Sports)

“It’s my job to win. I’ve got to go out there and do what’s right for me, my family, my coaches, and the people that put time and effort in me. At the end of the day, I’m a wrestler. That’s how I started, that’s what I do and if I can fight a guy and use my main skill with, then I should do that… This is the question though – I respect Anderson so much for taking the fight and giving me the opportunity to fight at UFC 200, but there has been no criticism in regards to Anderson. I don’t think he made even one attempt to get up. He just kind of accepted it. He’s the striker and he needs to be on his feet to be successful, he needs to make those attempts to get back up… I didn’t just fight anyone. I fought Anderson Silva and I won. So I’m not disappointed with the way it went. I just had some time to re-process everything and I feel pretty good about it.”

-Daniel Cormier reacts to criticism of his UFC 200 win over Anderson Silva in an interview with FoxSports.com.

Penick’s Analysis: Cormier’s got a point regarding Silva on the ground. While Cormier wasn’t doing a ton offensively from top position, Silva was simply locking Cormier’s leg down and was waiting for a stand up, which John McCarthy would then oblige on several occasions. Now, Silva, given the circumstances, really couldn’t do much else in his position, but he’s just as much responsible for why that fight stalled out as Cormier. Even with that criticism being valid for both, Cormier couldn’t lose that fight in that spot, and he didn’t. He got his paycheck, and will re-focus moving forward.

[Photo (c) Joe Camporeale via USA Today Sports]

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