The eighth episode of TUF Season 34 produced one of its most memorable moments, and it had little to do with what happened inside the cage. A quarterfinal matchup between Xavier Franklin of Team Bisping and Micaias Urena of Team Cormier ended with a first-round finish by knee, and what followed was a heated dispute that put former UFC two-division champion Daniel Cormier and UFC CEO Dana White squarely at odds.
Cormier, coaching opposite former middleweight champion Michael Bisping this season, immediately contested the finish, insisting the knee had connected with his fighter’s head, which would render it illegal under MMA rules.
“No, that is ridiculous, and you know it. He hit him in the f**king face with his knee,” Cormier exclaimed, as seen in a video posted by the UFC on Instagram.
White urged Cormier to review the footage before pressing his case further. The Louisiana native agreed, but rather than reconsidering, he came away more convinced of his position. The tape, however, told a different story, clearly showing the knee landing on Urena’s chest and shoulder.
A ringside official also reviewed the sequence and confirmed it was a legal strike.
None of it moved Cormier. He argued that the “contact” of the knee “doesn’t matter” and kept pressing. At that point, White had seen enough.
“You might be mentally ill. You are mentally ill,” White said. “I just f**king saw it on film. F**king yelling at everybody and s**t.”
Bisping, watching the back-and-forth unfold from the other corner, delivered his own verdict with characteristic calm.
“Of course, we watched the instant replay,” Bisping said. “The knee was to the chest. DC’s out of his mind. But what did I tell you, DC’s going to DC.”
The result stood, and with it came a shift in the season’s competitive landscape. Heading into the episode, Team Cormier held a 4-3 advantage over Team Bisping.
Franklin’s win erased it entirely, drawing the teams level at four apiece ahead of the semifinals. Cormier had been one victory from holding on to his lead, and to lose it over a finish he believed was wrongly allowed was enough to keep him arguing long after the replay had made its case.
