Daniel Cormier responds to hypocrisy criticism after ripping Gable Steveson for bad sportsmanship at UFC 331

Daniel Cormier has responded to criticism leveled at him for condemning Gable Steveson's poor sportsmanship at UFC 331, where the Olympic wrestler was knocked out by Sean Sharaf in 12 seconds and subsequently left the cage without waiting for the official decision. Cormier, along with commentator Joe Rogan and others, publicly chastised Steveson for being an "ungrateful loser" and suggested he should have stayed to accept his loss with grace. However, social media users and MMA observers quickly pointed out that Cormier himself had done the same thing years earlier: following his knockout loss to Jon Jones at UFC 214 in 2015 (later overturned to a no-contest after Jones tested positive for a banned substance), Cormier refused to stand for the decision announcement. When confronted with footage of his own behavior, Cormier acknowledged the inconsistency on Tuesday. He explained that he has no memory of events immediately following the knockout, saying he remembers nothing from the moment the kick landed until arriving at the ambulance. "Every time I see something from that night post knockout it's the first time I've seen it," Cormier stated, indicating the head trauma left lasting gaps in his recollection. Meanwhile, Jon Jones, Steveson's coach and mentor, took responsibility for his fighter's exit, claiming he simply wanted to get Steveson backstage to assess his condition. Steveson himself has not yet commented on either the loss or the resulting controversy surrounding his cage departure.