When Nate Diaz takes aim, he rarely misses, and his latest target was former two-division champion Daniel Cormier. In a long, unrelenting rant on This Past Weekend with Theo Von, he took aim at the fighter-turned-analyst, calling him out for his past assessment of him.

“I’m like, ‘Are you mad because you were the champion, and when I was nowhere near champion, I got paid way more money than you? That’s a f–king bitter little b–ch that’s analyzing fights,” Nate Diaz said bluntly. “You’re a great wrestler, DC. You can’t fight for s—. You’re a f—–g big old p—-. Remember when he cried?”

It came in the middle of a broader frustration Nate Diaz has with analysts critiquing active fighters. He questioned their credibility, their intentions, and even suggested jealousy plays a role. For someone who built his reputation outside the traditional “champion” path, Diaz clearly sees things differently.

But if Diaz opened the door, Cormier walked straight through it. Responding on his YouTube channel, the former two-division champion defended himself by flipping the conversation entirely.

“Nate Diaz, I think is reacting to what I said about him and Mike Perry’s fight and saying that I was excited about it because I know exactly what it is. He said we pretend to know everything when in reality we don’t,” Cormier said. “I don’t know everything. But when you list the people that are analyzing fights, there is one big striking thing that’s familiar, and it’s that we were champions.”

“Last time I told Nate Diaz that you will not compare us. But let’s do that: Jon Jones, Stipe Miocic, that’s it. Koji Oishi, Hermes Franca, Clay Guida, Joe Stevenson, Gray Maynard, McDonald, Benson Henderson, Josh Thompson, Dos Anjos, Conor McGregor, Masvidal, Leon Edwards. 13 times to 13 people. This is mine. This is who I lost to: two. And when I lost those fights, I was in my mid to late 30s. You were losing fights in your 20s. You were in your absolute athletic prime in a sport that you chose and you got beat multiple times by all these people.”

While the Stockton native’s 21-13 record might seem pedestrian, his immense popularity—fueled by his anti-establishment attitude—landed him in some of the UFC’s biggest fights, including two blockbusters against Conor McGregor and a bout for the inaugural BMF title. But championships? That’s where the gap shows. Daniel Cormier didn’t dance around it either.

“I’m happy for you. But you up here acting like you mad because somebody talking about how you’re average. Reality is you’re average,” Cormier told Diaz. “You’ve always been. But you made a lot of money. That’s good! But you’re average. You can talk all you want now, but it will never change the fact that you cannot go back in time. We can’t go back in time and make you better than you were. So you keep punching above your head. Punch at Khabib, not the same. You punch at Justin Gaethje. You punch at my man Dustin Poirier. All these dudes had titles. Let it go.”

He even acknowledged Diaz’s financial success, reportedly earning around $10 million for his next fight on Netflix. But for Cormier, money doesn’t rewrite legacy. And that’s really what this comes down to. So when Diaz questions analysts, he’s really questioning that system. And when Cormier fires back, he’s defending it. Neither is wrong from their own perspective. But they’re speaking two completely different languages. Cormier’s past critique wasn’t limited to Diaz’s record; he had also offered a reality check for the Netflix event where Diaz is set to compete.

Daniel Cormier dismisses the hype around the Carano vs Rousey Netflix card

There’s excitement around the upcoming Netflix card, no doubt: a returning Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano main event, Francis Ngannou on the card, and Nate Diaz vs Mike Perry as the kind of fight that sells itself. But Daniel Cormier made it clear, excitement doesn’t equal elite level.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Cormier admitted the Diaz vs. Perry fight is the matchup that most grabbed his attention. Why? Not because of rankings or belts, but because of what it guarantees, yet it still doesn’t compare to the UFC.

“Now let me tell you why. Nate Diaz and Mike Perry are not two of the best welterweights in the world, make no mistake about it,” Cormier shared. “They are not of the level of Kamaru Usman, Islam Makhachev, Jack Della Maddalena, Michael Morales, Sean Brady and Ian Garry. They’re not that. The best fighters are in the UFC, make no mistake about that.”

That’s the distinction he keeps coming back to: star power vs competitive level. He pointed out that both Diaz and Perry “know how to engage an audience” and will bring a fight people want to watch—that matters. But it doesn’t change where they stand compared to the top of the division.

And that ties directly into his bigger point about the sport itself. No matter how big another event feels, the highest level still sits inside the UFC system. That’s why he drew a hard line when people started comparing the two events. With Ilia Topuria vs Justin Gaethje and Alex Pereira vs Ciryl Gane expected on the White House card, Cormier didn’t hesitate.

“Nothing is ever going to be the UFC,” he added. “For people comparing it to the White House card, no chance.”

That’s why even when he doubles down by comparing the Netflix card to the UFC’s White House lineup, he’s reinforcing that same idea he mentioned earlier—big fights are one thing, elite fights are another. The debate leaves fans to decide what defines a fighter’s true worth: the championship belts Cormier defends or the unforgettable moments Diaz created.