Phil Hawes answers if he buried hatchet with Daniel Cormier since awkward octagon confrontation (Exclusive)

Phil Hawes recently revealed whether or not he's buried the hatchet with Daniel Cormier after the pair were seen getting into a verbal altercation at UFC Austin last year.

Hawes used a nasty combination of elbows to defeat Deron Winn via TKO in the second round of their middleweight bout. Following the finish of the fight and during a commercial break, Cormier, who was on commentary, entered the cage to speak to the winner Phil Hawes.

Hawes was then heard shouting at 'DC', who is a friend of Winn. The former double champ fired back before the break ended and everything ran as normal. The pair both later apologized for the incident and claimed it was a misunderstanding.

Watch the clip here:

Now, in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Hawes has revealed whether or not he and Daniel Cormier are on good terms.

The 34-year-old took full responsibility for the incident and stated that he and Cormier have wiped the slate clean following his apology:

"Me and 'DC' patched it up. I was a little emotional after my last win, you know what I mean? I took that on the chin and I apologized to him. He's a good guy so he took it and now we're cool."

Catch the exclusive interview here (4:50):

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When Daniel Cormier weighed in on Phil Hawes' callout of Bo Nickal

Daniel Cormier advised Bo Nickal not to take a fight against Phil Hawes last year, hoping the prospect slowly continues to build his fighting resume instead.

Nickal is considered one of the biggest upcoming talents in MMA and has so far demonstrated it in all of his professional bouts. The 27-year-old's MMA record is 4-0, and he has won all of his fights via first-round submission.

Due to Bo Nickal's rising stock, Phil Hawes called out the newcomer as he hoped to put an end to the middleweight division's biggest hype train. According to Cormier, however, it's a fight Nickal must avoid.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, 'DC' stated that Hawes is a Division 1 wrestler and highly skilled all round in the octagon. Because of this, a fight against his level of caliber may be too early for Nickal. Cormier said:

"In this fight, in this matchup, I am telling you guys that the reason Phil Hawes is calling for it is because he has the ability to at least compete in that world with Bo Nickal, while also knowing that he has the experience to do what he needs to do on his feet. I wouldn't make the fight. I wouldn't make Bo Nickal fight Phil Hawes."

Catch Cormier's comments here (14:30):