There have been some painfully cringeworthy UFC interviews, but this Daniel Cormier-Francis Ngannou interview might take the cake.
Remember that god awful MMA debate with Tom McGurk, John Kavanagh and a GAA journalist? That interview on TV3 showed just how wrong mainstream media’s perception of MMA can be.
There was fuck all research, plenty of eyebrow raising points and a cringe-inducing moment at every turn. In the Big Apple, an American talkshow gave that shitshow a run for its money.
Good Day New York on WNYW Fox 5 welcomed Daniel Cormier and Francis Ngannou to the studio on Monday. The aim was to promote their respective title fights at UFC 220. However, it was clear from the very first question this was going to be an uphill struggle for the fighters.
The bemused number one heavyweight contender responded, “It’s for the championship.”
This set the tone for the entire piece.
If the light heavyweight king thought more research would have been put into his questions, he was sadly mistaken.
‘DC’ really shone here. His natural charisma and timing really spared the interviewer’s blushes. His response was pretty much perfect.
“I mean, if I was a lightweight, I’d look like you girls up here. I’m a light HEAVYweight. I wish I was a lightweight! I’d be so sexy if I was a lightweight, my god!”
Just as soon as he got it back on track, the interview swiftly tried to derail it again.
Of course, Cormier began his career at heavyweight. He’s actually undefeated in that division and won the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix. He politely corrected the presenter.
“I did that when I first started. I was a heavyweight for 13 fights…”
The struggle continued with one of the hosts making light of him crying after being knocked out by rival Jon Jones. Ngannou couldn’t suppress the laughter at this moment. Then, to add insult to insult, they asked him where he got his moniker from.
“It’s my name – Daniel Cormier. That’s my nickname.”
When the penny dropped, both hosts let out an obnoxious “Oh yeah!”
If you can stomach it, watch the full interview in all its glory below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=Oczb1q0tCdY
