“You’re sounding like you’re being a homer for the UFC” – ‘Big’ John McCarthy slams Daniel Cormier for saying Fedor Emelianenko would have been ‘average’ in the UFC

Daniel Cormier sparked a huge debate in the MMA community after he appeared dubious about Fedor Emelianenko’s chances in the UFC.

The former two-division champ said the heavyweight legend would have been “average” at best if the Dana White-led promotion had signed him between 2009 and 2012.

However, veteran referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy believes Daniel Cormier is being biased towards the UFC. In the latest episode of his Weighing In podcast, McCarthy said:

“Look, DC is making a huge mistake saying Fedor would have been average. People said that DC was going to be average too, he wasn’t average and Fedor wouldn’t have been average. He was right when he said Fedor would have come in and he would have wrecked Brock Lesnar. He would have wrecked him. Wouldn’t even have been close.”

Backing up his point, McCarthy added that Emelianenko has eight wins in 10 fights against UFC champions, with one loss and one no contest. With a record of 8-1-1 opposite the best heavyweights in the world, McCarthy doesn’t see how Emelianenko would have been “average” in MMA’s biggest promotion.

“Out of 10 fights against UFC champions, heavyweight champions, he was 8-1-1. Yeah, that’s a guy who’s gonna do average [in the UFC]. Stop. You’re just sounding like you’re being a homer for the UFC when there’s no reason for it. You got to give due where due is deserved… He’s fought twice as much as you, dude, and take a look at his record… That will never be average.”

Catch John McCarthy’s comments on the Weighing In podcast below:

Daniel Cormier clarifies his comments about Fedor Emelianenko

Fedor Emelianenko was rumored to sign with the UFC in 2009. Dana White said he was “obsessed” about making the super fight happen between the Russian and then-UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.

Daniel Cormier, clarifying his comments in a YouTube video, said he was only assessing how Emelianenko would have fared in the UFC in the specific timeframe of 2009 – 2012. He suggested the improving quality of the UFC heavyweight division at the time, coupled with Fedor’s decreasing speed, would have left ‘The Last Emperor’ struggling.

Watch Daniel Cormier’s explanation below:

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Emelianenko signed with Strikeforce in 2009. After a successful debut, he lost three consecutive fights against Fabricio Werdum, Dan Henderson and Antonio Silva. In 2012, he announced his retirement from the sport before making a comeback three years later.

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