Dominick Reyes is back in the title mix — and he is spending his moment going after the man on the headset. The two-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger knocked out Azamat Murzakanov with a head kick just minutes into their UFC 333 fight last weekend, and instead of calling out the champion, he called out Daniel Cormier for what he saw as biased commentary.
The beef went viral fast. In one of his first interviews since UFC 333, on The Ariel Helwani Show, Reyes said his disdain for Cormier's analysis has been a long-standing issue — and he did not hold back. "Being a fighter doesn't automatically make you an expert in striking. Doesn't automatically make you an expert in movement. You still have to be good at your job, and that's the funny thing about this. People think because he's a double champ, that he knows everything about everything," Reyes said. "No! You have to learn, grow, and get better. Everybody gives him a pass, like he knows everything about everything, but that's not how the world works, man. He was a great fighter, and I'm not saying he wasn't, but as a commentator, he slacks off because he lives off of his double-champ status, in my opinion."
He went further: "And it seems like he doesn't do the research and the work because he's double champ Daniel Cormier."
Reyes is not the only UFC star to take aim at Cormier's commentary in recent years. UFC Hall of Famer Dominick Cruz famously revealed he mutes UFC broadcasts when Cormier gives analysis on fights. And there is history underneath the noise: Reyes and Cormier are both former rivals of Jon Jones, the man who beat them both — Reyes in a controversial 2020 title decision, Cormier twice. The beef is personal, but it is also about something real: who gets to tell the story of a fight while it is happening.
On the merits, Reyes has earned the microphone. After a knockout loss to Carlos Ulberg last year, he has won back-to-back fights — a split decision against Johnny Walker at UFC 327, then the head-kick finish of Murzakanov at UFC 333. The light heavyweight division is wide open, and a man on a two-fight win streak with two title challenges on his record is a problem for everyone above him.
The DAOS take: Reyes has a point, and it is one every fighter has felt. The commentary booth shapes how millions of fans see a fight — and when the voice in the booth is a legend, that voice carries weight whether the analysis is sharp or lazy. But here is the other side: Reyes just reminded everyone that the best response to bad commentary is a head kick. He won the fight, he won the moment, and now he has the whole sport talking about him. That is how you stay in the mix.
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Sources: BJPenn.com
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