During a recent episode of the Suguru podcast, UFC star Sean O’Malley and MMA influencer Guru discussed what they perceived as commentary bias at UFC 331 in Abu Dhabi. Their main point of contention was Daniel Cormier’s commentary during the trilogy match between Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili, with the conversation also touching on O’Malley’s own position in the bantamweight title picture.
The discussion began when O’Malley questioned why Cormier had brought up Song Yadong as a potential opponent for Yan following the Russian’s victory, rather than mentioning O’Malley.
“DC asking about Song Yadong. Like does DC got something against me?” O’Malley questioned, suggesting he felt overlooked in the conversation about Yan’s next opponent.
Guru chimed in, saying, “Everyone seems to have a problem. It’s almost like you didn’t beat Song Yadong is what they’re trying to suggest.”
O’Malley then added another name to the conversation, saying, “Or Peter.”
Guru responded with a joke of his own: “That one may be true.”
Rather than push for a match that might not happen, O’Malley suggested he was happy to sit back if the UFC had other plans for Yan’s next outing.
“If they don’t want me to compete against Peter, I’ll just sit out. You guys could have Peter versus Son. I’ll just hang out, rip the Suguru podcast. [ ] play pickle ball. [ ] be a dad.”
The conversation then shifted back to Cormier’s commentary on the broadcast, with Guru explaining that he had gone back and listened to the commentary more closely. According to the MMA analyst, the enthusiasm seemed to vary depending on which fighter was having success inside the octagon.
“Yan would land a shot that would like make Merab visibly wince and there’d be silence on the commentary here and there. And then Merab would fail a takedown and DC would come in his pants,” Guru said, describing what he believed was a noticeable difference in the reaction to each athlete’s exchanges.
Sean O’Malley agreed and joked, “Oh, where’s Song Yadong?”
Guru also highlighted Cormier’s reactions to Dvalishvili’s wrestling attempts, even when they failed to produce a takedown.
“DC loves the failed takedowns of Merab. He loves them,” he noted, suggesting that Cormier’s background as an Olympic wrestler might have influenced what caught his attention during the fight.
Despite their criticism of the broadcast, O’Malley and Guru were in agreement about the result. O’Malley made his position clear, stating, “Peter Yan won that match.”
The criticism of Cormier’s commentary comes amid another public dispute involving the former UFC champion. Following his knockout victory over Azamat Murzakanov at UFC 333, Dominick Reyes called out Cormier on social media, accusing the commentator of showing favoritism toward certain athletes.
“My name is Dominick not Kid,” Reyes wrote. “Yeah I heard your commentary tonight on my match. How about the part where Paul called you out for your clear bias? And what did you do? You laughed about it.”
Reyes went on to accuse Cormier of favoring athletes from the Caucasus region, arguing that his commentary could influence how fans perceive athletes. “Your ‘expert’ commentary sways the opinions of average fans, and that has a profound effect on our lives. Your clear bias towards athletes from the caucus region is frustrating, especially being an American athlete,” he wrote.
Cormier defended himself by insisting he had praised Reyes’ performance, but the light heavyweight wasn’t interested in brushing off the criticism. “I’m not your buddy guy. But seriously, I don’t care if you like me, truly. I only care that you have unbiased well informed color commentary,” Reyes responded.
