Back in April of 2017 at UFC 210, Daniel Cormier was in the center of a controversy. His nemesis Jon Jones was usually the one in the spotlight when it came to them but this time it was squeaky clean Cormier.
Before his light heavyweight title defense against Anthony Johnson, Daniel weighed in 1.2 pounds over the 205 pound limit and this is significant because there is no one pound allowance in a championship fight. With almost no time left to drop that weight he somehow pulled off a hail Mary and made the required weight. The time it took to drop the 1.2 pounds? A reported 2 1/2 minutes! A miracle! Needless to say questions were asked but the real focus was on how Daniel made the weight. When he weighed in again he needed a towel to block his nakedness from prying eyes – and to hold on to. It’s an old trick to push down on the towel enough to distribute some of your weight off your body thus reducing the weight on the scale. It worked and Cormier went on to defeat Johnson.
Here is the video of the controversy.
The discussions were many and long about whether he cheated to make weight or not. Wonder no more. Daniel Cormier confirmed what we all knew during his recent hall of fame induction.
I walked back to the back after missing weight by 1.2 pounds…I tried to give it up guys, trust me, I tried to give it up. I had a pound to lose, they even went and called my wife to try to get me back in the tub. I said, ‘No way, this shit’s over.’ She told me, Daniel, just take a hot bath. I go, ‘It’s not that simple.
He (his coach) goes, ‘DC, do you remember the old wrestling trick? I said, ‘Can you stand behind me?’ Because there’s two. You can put your hands behind you and the person can lift you up. He said, ‘No, it’s the towel one.’ But do you understand the level of ridiculousness that has to happen in order for that to work? I looked down and could not believe my luck. So, I look down, and the commissioner’s down on the floor looking at the scale. There’s a second lady. I look down, and she’s right next to him, so I grab the towel like, ‘Shit, we home free!
What do you think of his confession? Foolish or nah?
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