UFC 249: Fighters say Daniel Cormier's analysis in empty venue helped them win

Zac Al-Khateeb

UFC 249: Fighters say Daniel Cormier's analysis in empty venue helped them win image

Daniel Cormier may have unintentionally provided an unfair advantage to several fighters at Saturday's UFC 249 event.

Several fighters who ended up winning their bouts said they could hear Cormier in his role as analyst, since the event was held without spectators in the Jacksonville, Fla. venue. Those fighters took his analysis as coaching, tweaked their approach in the fight and ended up winning.

Oops.

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Among the fighters to thank Cormier for his advice were Carla Esparza and Greg Hardy. Jr.

Cormier later in the broadcast acknowledged that he may have given advice from his booth, but added there's nothing he could do at the moment since he still had a job to do.

It will be interesting to see how UFC responds to this unforeseen twist, or if fighters continue to take advantage of Cormier's coaching — er, analysis.

Zac Al-Khateeb

Zac Al-Khateeb Photo

Zac Al-Khateeb has been part of The Sporting News team since 2015 after earning his Bachelor's (2013) and Master's (2014) degrees in journalism at the University of Alabama. Prior to joining TSN, he covered high school sports and general news in Alabama. A college sports specialist, Zac has been a voter for the Biletnikoff Award and Heisman Trophy since 2020.