Daniel Cormier Not Happy With Referee’s Point Deduction From Paulo Costa’s Score

Daniel Cormier is not happy with the Costa-Vettori fight. Earlier, weight cut issues surrounded the Paulo Costa versus Marvin Vettori bout at UFC Vegas 41. Costa was unable to cut weight, and the fight happened at 205 pounds. Surprisingly, Vettori had accepted that fight, despite him being much lighter.

While most fighters would have refused such a fight, Vettori went ahead with it. Things seemed to turn out right for him because Vettori won the fight with a unanimous decision. People have been praising Vettori for his patience and resilience as a fighter.

Vettori had two more points than Costa by the end of the fight. Despite being much lighter, Vettori managed to win. Hence, no one can deny that he was the better fighter. However, former fighter Daniel Cormier has a problem with the fight’s scores.

Daniel Cormier believes Paul Costa’s point deduction was unfair

During the much-awaited bout, referee Jason Herzog had warned Costa against trying to illegally eye poke Vettori. The referee told him to be mindful of it. However, when Costa poked Vettori’s eye in the second round, the referee took away a point. 

Many praised the referee for following the rules strictly. However, the former UFC two-division champion, Daniel Cormier, thinks deducting a point was unfair. In a video, Cormier said, “Costa’s doing a great job in round number two, kicks Vettori in the head, having his best round of the fight, then he pokes him in the eye.”

Cormier added, “The poke in the eye, I get it, but when he got a point deducted -and I thought this immediately right afterwards -Jason Herzog had been watching the headlines. Jason Herzog has been watching and paying attention to the story that’s going around this fight, because everybody hastes Costa.”

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He felt deducting points after one eye poke was unfair, plus the fact the officials should not follow headlines. This helps the referee in being unbiased. Cormier said, “But when he took a point, after one eye poke, that really did not look intention to me, it told me that Herzog has been following the headlines and he allowed for that emotion of Costa being the bad guy to make him go a little bit too fast.”

While Cormier might be right in his stance, a referee is allowed to cut a point if illegal moves are used. According to the unified rules of MMA, an eye poke is a foul. However, many referees prefer giving a warning. Cormier believes warnings should have been given in this fight too. 

As a viewer, do you agree with Cormier, or did Herzog do the right thing? Let us know in the comments below.

Watch this story: Five Potential Opponents for Marvin Vettori After His Spectacular Victory Over Paulo Costa