Daniel Cormier ‘upset’ with Tom Aspinall after leaked conversation touts potential heavyweight run

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier criticized Tom Aspinall for letting their hot mic conversation about the heavyweight division go viral.

UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall’s first undisputed title defense ended in disaster due to an accidental eye poke from Ciryl Gane just minutes into the fight. In Round 1, Aspinall was deemed unfit to continue fighting due to an eye injury suffered at Gane’s hands.

Leading up to UFC 321, Aspinall and UFC analyst Daniel Cormier sat down for a pre-fight interview, going over the Gane fight and his unprecedented title reign. Cormier forecasted that Aspinall could go on a long run as heavyweight champion and discredited top contenders Alexander Volkov and Jailton Almeida in hot-mic footage.

After the conversation went viral, Cormier came under fire for appearing to dismiss the state of the heavyweight division. Cormier has since clarified his remarks and isn’t happy with how the footage was made public.

Daniel Cormier criticizes Tom Aspinall for releasing a hot-mic moment

During a recent episode of Good Guy/Bad Guy, Cormier reflected on his viral hot-mic moment with Aspinall.

A behind the scenes conversation between Daniel Cormier and Tom Aspinall, with DC whispering “secretly” directly into Tom’s microphone on his neck

“these matchups in this division, the type of run you could go on would be CRAZY”😂

Via: @AspinallMMA pic.twitter.com/8aTkLWRvTx

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) October 23, 2025

“I was trying to tell him that he was on the verge of something tremendously special, right now. What I was saying in that statement, was that Jailton [Almeida] is going to grapple you, it’s not as dangerous of a fight. I could’ve done a better job of saying that to Tom,” Cormier said of Aspinall.

“I was a little bit upset that Tom and them released that, if I’m being honest with you. When you learn into someone and you’re talking quietly, that’s a private conversation that should stay between you and the athlete. I thought it was [UFC: Embedded], and I know Embedded would never do something like that.

“Jailton Almeida deserves respect, and I do respect him. And I felt bad because he’s been so nice to me ever since he got into the UFC, he’s a great guy.”

Cormier has been a longtime defender of Aspinall’s, dating back to when Jon Jones held the UFC heavyweight title hostage instead of fighting the then-interim titleholder. After retiring, Jones is targeting a return to the Octagon next year, potentially against Aspinall.