UFC Legend Daniel Cormier Reacts To Near-Brawl Following Song Yadong's TKO Win

Former UFC two-division champion Daniel Cormier has become a consistent presence in the UFC digital ecosystem, serving both as a color analyst and managing a YouTube channel with 558,000 subscribers.

As expected, Cormier was tuned into the high-octane UFC Shanghai card that saw Song Yadong score a huge UFC bantamweight upset over ex-title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov with a second-round TKO in a five-round non-title main event attraction.

Cormier, who was used to pressure situations throughout his career within both title reigns, immediately reacted to Song's stoppage win in his home country.

Why UFC Shanghai Aftermath Was Overblown

Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 272 — Mar 5, 2022; Las Vegas, Nevada, UNITED STATES; Umar Nurmagomedov (blue gloves) celebrates after defeating Brian Kelleher (not pictured) during UFC 272 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

Cormier said he was impressed with how the fight played out, but suggested that the aftermath of the fight (which saw Usman Nurmagomedov frantically crash the Octagon) is being viewed incorrectly by UFC fans.

Daniel Cormier defends Usman Nurmagomedov for jumping in the cage after watching Umar get knocked out:

“Song Yadong was running in the direction of Usman. Usman reacts, he reached to stop him. He did not elbow him. Let’s stop making conspiracy theories.

What he did was try to… https://t.co/vvLggzgU6s pic.twitter.com/mwiBIUE0Ua
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 29, 2026

"Song Yadong was running in the direction of Usman," Cormier said. "Usman reacts, he reached to stop him. He did not elbow him. Let’s stop making conspiracy theories."

Outside the incident, Cormier said the focus should be on how hard it is to live up to the Nurmagomedov family legacy.

"We should also be giving credit to Umar for trying and living up to the name that he carries. It’s very difficult when you’re getting attacked by everybody," Cormier said.

Exaiming Khabib Nurmagomedov's Family Legacy

Adding to this notion, Cormier said that losses will happen sometimes simply because no one can be perfect.

"It’s very difficult to operate at that elite level when you have to live up to the name that Khabib carries"

Daniel Cormier says Umar Nurmagomedov deserves credit for competing under the enormous expectations that come with the Nurmagomedov name.

“We should also be giving… pic.twitter.com/AVXNKkvjUi
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) August 29, 2026

"It’s very difficult to operate at that elite level when you have to live up to the name that Khabib [Nurmagomedov] carries, to be the guy who is seen as the next guy when you’re coming behind Khabib and Islam [Makhachev]," Cormier added. "That’s difficult.”

Umar Nurmagomedov addressed the loss on his Instagram account, reassuring his fanbase that his journey is far from finished.

“Everything is fine with me. Alhamdulillah," Nurmagomedov wrote. "Thank you so much to everyone who writes. I will work on the mistakes, and I will be back.”

It's unclear how Nurmagomedov bounces back, falling to 2-1 across his last three UFC fights. Meanwhile, Song has won four of his last six and now has 10 wins by KO/TKO throughout his MMA career thus far.

Song, who has been with the UFC since 2017, picked up the 13th win of his UFC career thus far, as two of his four losses have come to current UFC Bantamweight Champion Petr Yan and ex-champion Sean O'Malley.

Should Song hold out, a few big rematches could be on the horizon later this year, or early next year.

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