Daniel Cormier Says He’s ‘Missing Time’ From Moments After UFC 214 Loss

Other than a brief statement online, we haven’t seen nor heard much from former UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in the weeks following his third-round knockout loss to Jon Jones in the main event of July 29’s UFC 214 from Anaheim, California, but the decorated fighter addressed many aspects of the fight and his future during an appearance today on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani.

And while he may be fighting forward with his eyes on a potential third fight against Jones, the 38-year-old Cormier also revealed some harrowing details about the moments directly after his second loss to pound-for-pound ruler ‘Bones.’

First, he said he didn’t hold any ill will towards octagon commentator Joe Rogan after Rogan took some heat for interviewing him right after he got knocked out, something he normally is against. Cormier also said referee John McCarthy gave him enough time to defend himself, but then unveiled the most concerning aspect of the loss, that he couldn’t remember the moments after he was defeated:

“I don’t hold any ill will towards him. I think he was doing his job. I don’t hold any ill will towards John McCarthy, I think John McCarthy gave me plenty of opportunities to say in this fight; I couldn’t. The Joe Rogan interview, I don’t know what happened. I still haven’t seen it, and honestly, Ariel, man I’ll be honest with you, I’m still missing time.”

Cormier apparently doesn’t remember talking to his longtime American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) associate Bob Cook, and remained unaware of what went on post-fight until he went into the back and was told he had to go to the hospital:

“Like, I don’t remember any of that. I don’t remember leaving the octagon. I don’t remember some of these photos where I was cryin’ and I was like, hugging Bob (Cook). I don’t remember any of that. I remember being in the back; I feel like I came out of a fog. I remember when I was in the back, they said, ‘You have to go to the hospital.’ I was like, ‘For what?'”

Cormier said that all told, he was missing about 10 minutes from after the fight, something that is certainly concerning given the current climate in sports surrounding CTE in athletes who take repeated blows to the head. The legendary fighter was understandably emotional after losing the biggest fight of his life, and he had to be told about his reaction in the seconds directly following the loss:

“I’m still missing time. I’m missing probably, I don’t know, 10 minutes. I remember talking to Dana and I said, ‘I’m sorry if I pushed you.’ Because I remember they said I pushed somebody, and I was like, ‘Really?’ Obviously, I do the TV stuff so I have friends in TV and they said that as they were watching me in the octagon, they could hear the microphone on Bob Cook and I was asking questions, asking why Dana yelled at me.Then they said I was in there and kinda like tearing up and then they said I looked up at the replay, that’s when I really broke down because I guess I saw what happened. I don’t recall that.”

But even though it’s rough to see him admit he had essentially had been in a knockout-induced stupor and couldn’t remember much, Cormier stated that his tears and emotion simply showed how much the fight meant to him, so he wouldn’t do a thing differently:

“Tears and sadness means that it means something to you, and I would do the same thing again.”