Daniel Cormier reacts to Derrick Lewis calling him a “Piece of s***” in UFC Edmonton media day rant

Former UFC heavyweight title challenger Derrick Lewis isn’t happy with Daniel Cormier after previously imploring him to retire following a recent dominant loss.

Lewis returns this Saturday against talented striker Jhonata Diniz at UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Albazi. He’s looking to get on another win streak and move closer to the heavyweight title picture.

Lewis and Cormier seemed on great terms after their UFC 230 title showdown. Cormier defeated Lewis by second-round submission, but they’ve had some viral moments together in sitdown interviews since.

That appears to no longer be the case after Lewis went off on Cormier ahead of his fighting comeback.

During UFC Edmonton media day, Lewis was asked about one fight he wanted to run back and went off on Cormier.

Derrick Lewis wants a rematch with Daniel Cormier.

"I told DC to his face, man. That guy's a piece of sh*t." pic.twitter.com/O1NNQTNWlH

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) October 30, 2024

“Probably DC, that still doesn’t sit right with me,” Lewis said of Cormier. “Do people really like DC like that? I told DC in his face, man, that guy is a piece of s***. Scumbag, man. Fuck DC…

“He knows why, and everyone knows why. He disrespected Popeyes Chicken…but other than that, he’s a piece of s***.”

Daniel Cormier responds to Derrick Lewis: “We already fought. It’s settled!”

Cormier then responded to Lewis by phone on The Ariel Helwani Show.

“I haven’t seen him for a while, but I was pretty hard on him about retiring because he had lost a couple of fights, and I was kind of telling the truth,” Cormier said. “And he seemed mad at me, but I haven’t seen him. But I’m going to see him this weekend and kind of ask him ‘Yo, are you mad at me?’…

“There’s a little underlying, maybe, it sounds like it might be a little underlying. He might be a little pissed at me, maybe. Because of the way talked about him,” Cormier continued on Lewis. “I don’t remember what fight it was, where he didn’t look great. But then he knocked the last guy out and I was like well, I’m glad he’s back! So I don’t know. My opinions go with their performances and maybe that’s what it is. But in terms of anything else, Derrick and I don’t really have many things that we do together outside of the Popeyes thing, and then our fight. But it’s like we can’t be mad at each other, we already fought. It’s settled! He’s making big money now, constantly. We put him in an area, and he’s staying there, and I’m happy for him. I don’t know what it is though, I really don’t know what it is. I need to see his face, see if he’s laughing, if he’s joking, how he’s looking, and how he looks to see if he’s really mad at me.”

Cormier, last year, said Lewis was “done at the top” of the division after losses to Sergei Pavlovich and Tai Tuivasa. He’s since bounced back with wins in two of his last three fights.

Cormier will be on the call this weekend at UFC Edmonton for Lewis’s fight. While it’s uncertain whether or not Lewis was joking in his remarks, things seem tense between the two sides.