The Ultimate Fighter Season 34, featuring Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping as opposing coaches, aired its eighth episode today. Xavier Franklin from Bisping’s team secured a brutal first-round finish over Micaias Urena from Cormier’s team during their quarterfinal matchup by landing a devastating knee. However, the strike immediately sparked a protest from Cormier, who insisted the knee was illegal.

“No, that is ridiculous, and you know it. Hit him in the f—ing face with his knee,” Cormier exclaimed in an Instagram video uploaded by the UFC while arguing with the referee.

Taking cognizance of Cormier’s protest, UFC CEO Dana White urged the former two-division champion to first watch the replay before protesting the finish. Without wasting a second, the Louisiana native reviewed the footage, convinced that the fighter from Bisping’s team had landed the knee to the face of his fighter, which would have been an illegal strike under MMA rules.

However, the replay clearly showed the knee landed squarely on the chest and shoulder area, making it a legal strike under MMA rules. Even so, the 47-year-old continued protesting, arguing that the “contact” of the shot “doesn’t matter.” In response, the UFC CEO called Cormier “mentally ill” for passionately arguing against an entirely legal stoppage. 

“You might be mentally ill. You are mentally ill,” Dana White said. “I just f—ing saw it on film. F—ing yelling at everybody and s—t.”

Alongside Dana White and the coaches involved in the dispute, an official also reviewed the stoppage and confirmed that Franklin’s knee landed on Urena’s chest. Despite the review going against Cormier, the former champion remained steadfast in his stance. Still, the result of the bout remained unchanged. Cormier’s protest, however, was understandable given the circumstances, as Bisping had just evened the score between their teams on The Ultimate Fighter 34.

Before the latest episode, Team Cormier held a narrow 4-3 lead over Team Bisping. With Xavier Franklin’s vicious knockout victory, the former middleweight champion’s team drew level in the competition as they head into the semi-finals. As a result, DC’s competitive nature drove him to do everything possible to prevent the Englishman from tying the score.

‘The Count’ knew the strike was legal. So, he encouraged Cormier to watch the replay and could not resist taking a lighthearted jab at him afterward. 

“Of course, we watched the instant replay,” Bisping said. “The knee was to the chest. DC’s out of his mind. But what did I tell you, DC’s going to DC.”

When it comes to Dana White calling someone “mentally ill,” however, Daniel Cormier is not the only example. The UFC CEO previously used the same label for another prominent combat sports personality, although the circumstances were considerably more serious.

Dana White calls rival promoter Oscar De La Hoya “mentally ill”

The UFC CEO’s feud with Oscar De La Hoya has become a defining saga in the history of the UFC and boxing. The two have been locked in a longstanding rivalry, with neither missing an opportunity to take verbal shots at the other. One such moment came earlier this year when Zuffa unveiled its championship belt, drawing criticism from another of White’s rivals, Eddie Hearn, who labeled it an “insult” to boxing history. 

However, De La Hoya’s decision to call it a “made-up belt” angered the UFC head honcho even more, prompting him to unload on the Golden Boy Promotions head without holding back. During his tirade, White even called the former boxing champion “mentally ill.”

“They don’t stop talking, the WBC and Eddie Hearn and all this s–t that Oscar De La Hoya talks,” White said at the Zuffa Boxing 3 presser. “We all know De La Hoya is f–king mentally ill. The guy’s talking all this s–t, and his place is in foreclosure; he’s suing his fighter to try to stay with him.”

Dana White did not hesitate to fire back at Oscar De La Hoya, pointing to the legal dispute between Golden Boy Promotions and its star fighter, Ryan Garcia. Although the legal matter between De La Hoya and Garcia was eventually resolved, the underlying tensions remained, with Garcia recently saying he felt “disrespected” by De La Hoya after agreeing to fight Zuffa’s Conor Benn. 

As the two incidents illustrate, Dana White never pulls his punches when calling someone “mentally ill,” whether it is Daniel Cormier or Oscar De La Hoya.