The MMA Guru refutes Daniel Cormier on USA Wrestling Credentials – “They are doing something better than you.”

The MMA Guru strikes with his compelling argument that the USA Wrestling Credentials are not as effective as they used to be in MMA. In the Good Guy / Bad Guy show on ESPN, Daniel Cormier labeled Guru’s stance as “wrong,” defending his perspective on this issue. 

What Happened Between The MMA Guru and Daniel Cormier?

Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen addressed one of Guru’s posts on “X,” in which he wrote that fighters like DC and Chael had gaslighted him for years into believing that having USA wrestling credentials for MMA athletes could grant a significant edge inside the cage. 

However, a seasoned wrestler like Tatiana Suarez, who has trained in American wrestling her whole life, managed to takedown Zhang Weili only once out of her 14 attempts. Prior to the UFC 312 co-main event, people picked Suarez as a +240 favorite, anticipating that she would wrestle her way to victory, but Weili outclassed her with superior takedown defense and also secured one takedown. 

Zhang Weili’s performance made Guru skeptical about the effectiveness of American Wrestling in mixed martial arts, and his post was aimed at the people who believed that wrestling was a superior martial arts form to others. Daniel Cormier, being a wrestler, had a completely different point of view than MMA Guru, and he expressed his thoughts on the Bad Guy / Good Guy ESPN show. Cormier also disagreed with his co-host, Chael Sonnen, who was also a wrestler before turning into a mixed martial artist. 

Also Read: Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen argue over MMA Guru’s post on X. Guru is cooking a fitting response “To this blasphemy.”

The MMA Guru counters Daniel Cormier’s criticism. 

The point MMA Guru emphasized was if a fighter had USA wrestling credentials on his or her resume, the chances of getting picked by the people were much higher than the opponent who didn’t have them. Now, in this case, Guru argues that martial arts as a sport has matured and grown to be more comprehensive, and to compete with the best in MMA, proficiency in wrestling is no longer sufficient, a fighter needs to be specifically trained in MMA which includes mastering other disciplines as well. 

“Now, I was speaking in extreme, but I have a point” – Guru said in his 46-minute YouTube video. 

“My point is, when I see wrestling credentials on a resume of a USA fighter, I used to back in the day fear that. ‘Oh my god he’s a national champ, he’s gonna run through the division’. In the modern era of MMA, if I see national champion, if I see Hodge Trophy this, if I see some sort of wrestling credentials that they have and they went through the whole system over there in America, I’m starting to notice that these guys aren’t much of a threat in MMA anymore, nowhere near what they used to be.”

“They are starting to get figured out and shut down by the people who don’t have that background that’s my take! People who have a wrestling background, should be able to implement wrestling in an MMA fight, against someone who didn’t have that.”

Daniel Cormier crafted an argument that most of the current UFC champions like Jon Jones, Islam Makhachev, Merab Dvalishvili, and Ilia Topuria are from a wrestling background, but Guru hilariously mentions by hovering his mouse over the word “USA” on the screen, clarifying that he’s only talking about USA wrestling credentials, not Caucasus and Georgian wrestling. 

“They are doing something better than you when it comes to implementing grappling in MMA period. Grappling effectiveness, wrestling prowess, being able to dominate someone in the grappling department of a fight. They are doing something better than the US prospects.” – MMA Guru added.

When DC raised the point regarding “why Tatiana Suarez couldn’t takedown Zhang Weili at the co-main event of UFC 312?”, he highlighted that Suarez didn’t make some minor adjustments that ultimately cost her the fight and Weili’s training at Muay-Thai Bangtao under the Hickman Brothers have equipped her with offensive wresting that massively helped her to win the fight. 

MMA Guru countered DC’s argument by asserting – 

“The reason she couldn’t get takedowns on Zhang Weili, because of two guys in Thailand? At a Muay-Thai gym? Have taught Zhang Weili effective grappling in MMA in a few years better than Tatiana Suarez’s life of wrestling has taught her? You have perfectly illustrated DC, accidentally my exact point on this topic!”

After MMA Guru was done explaining his take, UFC middleweight fighter Bo Nickal invited Guru on his podcast to educate him about American wrestling. Guru refused Nickal’s invitation but left with a criterion that if he could prove the YouTuber wrong, then he would consider joining the podcast. 

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