Overview of The Daniel Cormier Show
In this episode, Daniel Cormier reflects on Gable Steveson’s quick knockout loss and the reaction around it, then uses his own experience being knocked out by Jon Jones to rethink his earlier criticism of Jones as a coach. The core message: one loss does not define a fighter, and the proper response is to reset, learn, and move forward.
Main Topics Discussed
Gable Steveson’s loss and the reaction to it
- Cormier says he waited a few days before reacting so he could see the full picture of how people responded to Steveson’s defeat.
- He initially believed Gable should have stayed in the octagon, taken the loss, and let the winner have his moment.
- He pushes back hard against people acting like the loss proves Gable has no future in MMA.
- Cormier argues that fans and media often swing too far, turning a single bad performance into a final verdict.
Jon Jones as coach, and DC walking back his criticism
- Cormier admits he previously thought Jon Jones was not the right coach because Jones might not be able to let someone else be the star.
- After seeing Jones’ comments and behavior after the fight, DC says he is softening that opinion.
- Jones said it was his decision to take Gable straight to the back after the knockout, and that he did it to make sure Gable was okay.
- Cormier says that’s what a good coach does: take responsibility, protect the athlete, and absorb criticism.
Cormier’s own knockout memory vs. reality
- DC reveals he saw a clip of himself after the 2017 Jones knockout trying to pull away from officials and leave the cage.
- He says he didn’t remember it at all and had only ever watched the fight up to the knockout.
- Looking back, he says the reaction was bad behavior, but also understandable in the moment.
- He ultimately concludes that Jones deserved his moment that night because of how dominant his performance was.
Gable Steveson is not done
- Cormier emphasizes that Gable is young, inexperienced, and still very early in his MMA career.
- He says Steveson needs a reset mentally and strategically:
- slow down
- clean up his approach
- build more experience
- stop trying to force the spotlight too fast
- He points out that Gable has already reached the top in wrestling, but MMA is a different climb.
The danger of overreacting to one fight
- DC criticizes people who say Gable has already failed in wrestling, the NFL, WWE, and now UFC.
- He says that’s an absurd conclusion after one loss.
- He uses examples like Bo Nickal to show how quickly narratives can change in MMA.
Key Takeaways
- A knockout loss is not a career obituary.
- How a fighter responds after losing matters more than the loss itself.
- Jon Jones showed leadership by taking care of Gable and owning the situation.
- Cormier reconsidered his own stance after seeing his old knockout reaction and Jones’ handling of the moment.
- Gable Steveson needs patience and development, not a rushed judgment.
Notable Perspective from DC
- He believes the best competitors are defined not by perfect records, but by how they reset after setbacks.
- He says great fighters often have emotional or messy reactions in defeat, but what matters is what they do after they cool down.
- His bottom line: Gable will be fine if he learns from this and keeps improving.
What’s Next on the Show
- Cormier says he’ll do separate, deeper breakdowns later on:
- Josh Hokit / heavyweight title picture
- Amanda Nunes vs. Kayla Harrison
- He closes by encouraging listeners to subscribe and keep following the show.