Daniel Cormier Addresses Embarrassing Sean O’Malley Name Slip During Post-Fight Broadcast

After Petr Yan retained the UFC bantamweight title by defeating Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 333 on Saturday, the question of who will face the champion next became a major talking point. Daniel Cormier added fuel to the conversation by mentioning only Song Yadong’s name during the broadcast.

Many fans initially thought DC and the UFC were intentionally snubbing Sean O’Malley, given "Suga's" massive star power and his previous split-decision win over Yan at UFC 280. However, the color commentator later cleared the air by getting completely honest in front of O’Malley about his live blunder.

Daniel Cormier Clears the Air with Sean O'Malley 

Right now, two contenders are in line to face Petr Yan next for the bantamweight title, and Dana White said the matchmakers are deciding who is more suitable to get the shot first. 

After ending his trilogy with Dvalishvili, Yan stated he will fight anyone, whether he is Yadong or King Kong. However, before the champion spoke, Daniel Cormier raised Song Yadong’s name during the in-cage interview as a possible next opponent.

The omission drew significant pushback from the MMA community. “Suga” was surprised Yan did not call him out, and his coach Tim Welch criticized DC for backing Yadong over a fighter who beat him about six months earlier.

Amid the turmoil, Cormier invited the No. 3-ranked bantamweight onto his YouTube channel to share his point of view about what happened. 

Getting completely honest, Cormier explained, "Petr Yan defends his title, and Song Yadong is in the arena, and I said, 'Well, Song Yadong is right there,' because if I'm being completely honest with you, the truck is in my ear saying, 'We're going to show Song,' so then obviously I'm going to say Song Yadong is right there in the arena. Your coach took a little offense to it.'"

He added, "You have beat Song Yadong, and honestly, in that moment, I actually forgot that you beat Song Yadong. You got a victory over Song Yadong, and then you got a victory, obviously, at the White House. And after the White House, if you watch the fight, me, Joe , Jon , and I believe we're saying we think Sean should fight for the belt right now, but that didn't happen."

The production truck fed Cormier the Yadong cue, causing him to temporarily lose sight of O’Malley’s victory at UFC 324. Despite the broadcast slip, Cormier confirmed that he, Joe Rogan, and Jon Anik all believe O’Malley deserves the next title shot.