“One of the worst places to be hit”: Daniel Cormier explains Song Yadong’s brutal KO of Umar Nurmagomedov
Daniel Cormier broke down Song Yadong’s brutal knockout of Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC Shanghai and explained why the shot to the side had such a devastating effect.
Former UFC two-division champion Daniel Cormier has reacted to Umar Nurmagomedov's brutal knockout loss to Song Yadong in the headliner of UFC Shanghai and breaks down what exactly caused the out-cold knockout.
Daniel Cormier breaks down Song Yadong’s brutal KO of Umar Nurmagomedov
In the main event of UFC Shanghai, Umar squared off against Yadong. The first round went to everyone’s expectations. The fight was competitive; neither had a huge moment. The Dagestani was able to take down the Chinese, but he was able to make it back to his feet.
In the second round, Yadong shocked everyone, as the Dagestani star attempted to grab his leg for a takedown, he countered with a perfectly timed right hand behind the ear, sending the former title challenger crashing to the canvas. The Chinese fighter then followed up with several ground-and-pound strikes before the referee stopped the fight.
It was not the cleanest or the most powerful shot that usually gets the knockout. In his recent YouTube video, Cormier broke down the sequence and explained why the shot had such a devastating effect on Umar.
Cormier explained that the strike connected to the side of Umar’s head and disrupted his equilibrium, which caused his body to go limp almost immediately. He pointed out that fighters can often absorb clean shots to the chin, but strikes to the side of the head can have a different effect because of their impact on a fighter’s balance and equilibrium.
“Umar shoots for a double leg, Song defends, throws a right uppercut, drops Umar. The uppercut grazes him on the side of the head, which is one of the worst places to be hit. We get hit on the chin so many times, and we can handle that. But when you get hit here, and it shocks the equilibrium, and you fall, your body goes completely limp, and that's what happened to Umar today,” Cormier explained.
The former champion also highlighted the power behind Yadong’s finishing sequence. Although Umar had established himself as one of the division’s most dangerous fighters, Cormier believes the knockout demonstrated just how quickly fortunes can change inside the UFC.
“He got hit, he got caught against a guy that has tremendous power. But again, this result speaks to how quickly things can change inside the UFC, and how quickly one result can flip a division,” Cormier said.
Check out Daniel Cormier’s comments below:
Umar was eyeing another opportunity to grab the bantamweight title. He failed in doing so at UFC 311 against Merab Dvalishvili. If he had secured victory over Yadong, that would have been his third straight win, and he could have cemented himself for the next title shot. However, the Chinese ruined the Dagestani star's plans and demanded a title shot for himself in his octagon interview.
