"He's not Khabib Nurmagomedov" - Daniel Cormier labels Islam Makhachev a "victim of expectations" for being criticised despite Dustin Poirier win

UFC commentator and former multi-division champion Daniel Cormier has spoken in Islam Makhachev's favor after the latter received criticism for his fight against Dustin Poirier. Cormier recently had a conversation with Xtra MMA where he spoke about Makhachev's performance against 'The Diamond' at UFC 302.

'DC' complimented the Dagestani for his performance and argued that the champion was facing criticism due to high expectations from the fans.

"I thought [Islam Makhachev] did good, man. Look, one of the things about Islam is you become a victim of expectation, right? He got a finish, but if he didn't finish him, he would have won that fight at least four rounds to one. That's a pretty dominant performance. But because he's been so good for so long, people are like, 'Oh, well, there were some moments when Dustin had moments,' So, they think that it was something different but Islam fought great."

Cormier then went on to say how it was not fair to compare Makhachev to former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. He added:

"He's not Khabib. Khabib was just so outwardly dominant that you never saw him struggle. So, people think to expect the same thing from Islam and nobody's Khabib."

Check out Daniel Cormier's comments below (3:00):

Makhachev and Poirier headlined UFC 302 on June 1. The fight took place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The bout was a competitive affair that ended with Makhachev getting his hand raised by submission in the fifth round.

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Daniel Cormier addresses his comments about the possibility of Alex Pereira being an Olympic champion

While having a chat with Islam Makhachev, Daniel Cormier had boldly claimed that with just two years of wrestling training, Alex Pereira could win a medal at the Olympics.

During his interaction with Xtra MMA, Cormier explained his comments, saying that the statement was just a joke.

"It was a joke. I like to mess with Islam. Yeah, no way, man. You wrestle you whole life and can't become an Olympic champion. So yeah, very few people get to be an Olympic champion. No, Alex Pereira would not be the Olympic wrestling champion." [2:42 in the above video]