The Daniel Cormier Show - DC REACTS to Charles Oliveira beating Max Holloway for BMF title, CRAZY White House card

Summary

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The Daniel Cormier Show: UFC 326 Post-Fight Reaction – Oliveira Dominates Holloway for BMF Title

Podcast: The Herd with Colin Cowherd (The Daniel Cormier Show)
Date: March 8, 2026
Host: Daniel Cormier
Main Topic: DC Reacts to Charles Oliveira’s dominant victory over Max Holloway for the BMF Title at UFC 326, with discussion of key fights on an action-packed card and insights into the future of fighters and the meaning of the BMF title.

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Episode Overview

Daniel Cormier recaps an electrifying UFC 326 event in Las Vegas, focusing on Charles Oliveira’s comprehensive win against Max Holloway to claim the BMF title. DC breaks down the fight’s details, examines what the title and "BMF" concept really symbolize, and highlights other pivotal moments from the card. He also touches on inspiring fighter stories and teases forthcoming content, including a discussion on Alex Pereira’s shot at becoming a three-division champ.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Charles Oliveira vs. Max Holloway: The BMF Title Fight

• Oliveira’s Gameplan & Execution
  • Oliveira dominated Holloway from start to finish, securing repeated takedowns and controlling the ground game.
  • Cormier notes, "Charles Oliveira went to the Octagon tonight and completely dominated Max Holloway from the very start of the fight to the very end of the fight. He just was a better fighter." (03:08)
• Max’s Struggles
  • Holloway was unable to get back to his feet for nearly the whole fight: “When Charles got Max down, Max never got up. He never got back to his feet one time for 24 minutes.” (04:17)
  • However, Max’s submission defense was praised as a rare positive: "He fought off of his back for, I mean, 23 minutes and Oliveira never got that close to submitting him." (09:39)
• Evolution of Oliveira
  • DC draws a line from Oliveira’s previous defeat to Ilia Topuria: “For Tapori to do what he did to Oliveira… it’s even more impressive now after what Charles has done now in his two fights since losing to Ilia.” (08:19)
  • Highlights Oliveira’s career resiliency: “Not less than a year ago, he got knocked out… for the lightweight championship. And now he’s the BMF champ less than a year after that." (08:39)

2. What Does the BMF Title Represent?

• Original Meaning vs. Expectations
  • Cormier questions whether the BMF belt should represent pure brawling or fighting smart: "Is that what the BMF stands for?… When you get the BMF title on the line, you’re looking for bangers… but is that really what it was meant to be? I don’t know." (06:51)
• Community & Fighter Reactions
  • Reference to Michael Chandler lobbying for “stand and bang” only BMF title fights.
  • DC sides more with championship-level skills and strategy, but recognizes “the general consensus is when you get the BMF title on the line, you’re looking for bangers.” (07:38)

3. Other Notable UFC 326 Fights and Performances

• Kyle Bahalo vs. Reinier de Ridder
  • Bahalo earns a big win, showing new motivation and resilience in the third round.
• Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Rob Font
  • Rosas Jr. wins via decision thanks to multiple takedowns; “If you’re Rosas Jr. you’re heading in the right direction.” (11:08)
• Drew Dober vs. Michael Johnson
  • Massive KO: “Dober threw a right hand hook and a left hand down the middle. That put him completely out. It was nasty.” (11:30)
• Gregory Rodriguez vs. Bruno Fajeda
  • Selected as Cormier’s “Total Wireless Performance of the Night”:

    “Gregory Rodriguez knocked him out with one punch, put him down with one right hand. No follow up shots needed, ended the fight. It was amazing…” (11:56)

• Cody Garbrandt vs. Xiao Long
  • Two points deducted from Xiao Long for low blows; Garbrandt “back in the win column and ultimately that’s what matters.” (12:33)
• Other Fighters & Notable Stories
  • Dante Johnson’s raw talent
  • Alberto Montes' inspiring backstory and predicted submission win
  • Acknowledgement of several up-and-coming fighters: Sumadarji, Nur Gazai, Raphael Mulatto, and more.

4. Personal And Community Highlights

• Daniel Cormier on CBS
  • Emotional gratitude from Cormier about making it onto CBS from humble beginnings:

    “We grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana… Today I actually got to go on CBS… I am living a dream and obviously I worked hard to get here. But it’s the people that support me, like every one of you, that allows for these things to happen for me." (13:38)

5. Looking Ahead: Teased Content and Potential Storylines

• Upcoming Topics
  • DC teasing a deep-dive video “discussing this White House car part” (context: likely an inside MMA reference/post-fight ritual)
  • Speculation: “Can Alex Pereira become a three division champion? That is nuts. We'll discuss that also…” (14:26)
  • Upcoming episode with Sugar Sean O’Malley.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Oliveira’s Dominance:

  “Pure domination by Charles Oliveira.” (05:08)

• On BMF Belt Expectations:

  “BMF is also just the continuation of extension, of winning and putting yourself in position to become a world champion. But… when you get the BMF title on the line, you’re looking for bangers.” (07:12)

• On Holloway’s Defense:

  “His submission defense… I don't know that we've ever seen a guy on the bottom versus Oliveira for as long as he spit on the bottom and not get submitted.” (09:39)

• On CBS Opportunity:

  “Today I actually got to go on CBS free TV… I am living a dream and obviously I worked hard to get here. But it’s the people that support me… that allows for these things to happen for me." (13:38)

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• [03:08] — Start of detailed breakdown of Oliveira vs. Holloway (fight analysis, dominance, strategy)
• [07:12] — DC questions the meaning and expectations of the BMF title
• [08:19] — Reflection on Ilia Topuria’s win over Oliveira and its context after this fight
• [09:39] — Praise for Holloway’s submission defense
• [11:08]–[12:56] — Recap of major undercard fights, notable KOs, and performances
• [13:38] — Personal moment: Cormier’s gratitude for community and career milestones
• [14:26] — Teasers: White House card, Alex Pereira three-division champ discussion, upcoming Sean O’Malley episode

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Episode Flow & Tone

Cormier’s analysis is insightful, passionate, and sprinkled with gratitude for the MMA community. He mixes technical breakdown with personal anecdotes, ensuring fans get both a fighter’s insight and a pundit’s broader perspective. DC also keeps things conversational, engaging the audience and regularly soliciting fan opinions (“You guys tell me in the comments”). His tone is enthusiastic, humble, and always approachable.

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Final Thoughts

This episode is a complete and direct post-fight reaction that MMA fans will love—especially those interested in ongoing debates about the "BMF" title’s significance and the skills and stories behind the athletes. Cormier’s blend of technical fight analysis and personal narrative keeps the listener both informed and entertained.

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Transcript

[Daniel Cormier]

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[Daniel Cormier]

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But, guys, tonight it's all about the BMF title. Tonight at UFC 326 in Las Vegas, Max Holloway walked here as the BMF champion, and he defended that belt against Charles Du Bronx Oliveira. These guys fought a decade ago. We all believed that this fight was going to be a continuation of what happened 10 years ago. Or would it be a completely different fight? Well, it was a completely different Fight. Charles Oliveira went to the Octagon tonight and completely dominated Max Holloway from the very start of the fight to the very end of the fight. He just was a better fighter. And he fought the fight where he needed to fight in order to get that championship. It was takedown after takedown after takedown in control. And honestly, Max had no answers for the ground game of Charles Oliveira. And honestly, not many people have answers for Charles Oliveira when he fights in the way that he fought tonight. He went forward with pressure, he was able to land his strikes with a lot of impact and damage like we have known Charles Oliveira to do. He just looks like the guy that was on that big title run. Whenever he was the lightweight champion of the world, he pursued Max. He would hit him with big shots, then he would get to the clinch and he would take him down. But what was most impressive was the fact that when he got Charles down, or, sorry, when Charles got Max down, Max never got up. He never got back to his feet one time for 24 minutes. The last Ron, he got up to his feet once. Charles held him until 10 seconds left. And then he did the point down and he struck with him a little bit. And when he did that, he landed a big right hand on Max. Now, Max did hit him too in that exchange, but it was pure domination by Charles Oliveira. Now, here's the thing. I think that every fighter is a bmf, but. And I know that MMA is to win. Charles Oliveira looked like he could have competed with Max in the stand up, but instead he chose the route that was best to benefit him, and that was to take him down and control him in the way that he did. But when we think of the BMF title, the one thing that we got before, right, when Nate Diaz fought Jorge Masvidal and they weren't in title contention and they weren't the most successful guys in former champions, we got kind of brawls. Is that what the BMF stands for? Inside the Octagon? I got a message from Michael Chandler and I didn't see on Twitter rx and it said dc. I think you could try to get this some traction. Please make it standing bang, like on the video game. Is that what you guys expect out of the bmf? I asked that to Joe and John. I am more aligned with them. BMF is also just the continuation of extension, of winning and putting yourself in position to become a world champion. But I think the general consensus is when you get the BMF title on the line, you're Looking for beggars. I mean, that first BMF title fight was a banger until they stopped it. Poirier vs. Gaethje a banger. Holloway vs. Gaethje banger. Holloway vs. Poirier was a banger. So I get what the BMF title has become, but is that really what it was meant to be? I don't know. You guys tell me in the comments. But at the end of the day, I don't really care because I was impressed with what I saw tonight from Charles Dubron Solive in honesty, they asked me, did it say more about Max Holloway or Charles. What it really said to me was how good Ilia Topori is. I mean, for Tapori to do what he did to Oliveira, crazy. It was impressive then. It's even more impressive now after what Charles has done now in his two fights since losing to Ilia. Guys, you gotta tip your cat to old Cap. To Oliveira. Not less than a year ago, he got knocked out in his very octagon bad by Elliot Toporia for the lightweight championship. And now he's the BMF champ less than a year after that. Horrible result for Max Holloway. There wasn't much good in this fight because he never got the fight. But what was very impressive was his submission defense. I don't know that we've ever seen a guy on the bottom versus Oliveira for as long as he spit on the bottom and not get submitted. So if there is something that the Holloway team should look at as a positive is that he fought off of his back for, I mean, 23 minutes and Oliveira never got that close to submitting him. Yeah, that was super impressive. But Holloway will be back. I mean, the guy's a champion, he's an amazing fighter and. And he will build himself back into contention. Kyle Bahalo beat Rainier Deridder. That was a big win for Bahalo. He said that he was not motivated to fight anymore. Going into that last fight against Zimabov, he didn't look that way tonight. He had to go through some tough things and he fought very well in the third round. Showing you that the motivation is there. Raul Rosas Jr. Beat Rob Font by decision. A lot of takedowns, not much damage. But if you're Rosas Jr. You're heading in the right direction. You're very happy about that positive result. Drew Dover knocked out Michael Johnson. Bad guys. It was crazy. Johnson was fighting a really good fight. He was on a win streak. Dober threw a right hand hook and a left hand down the middle. That put him completely out. It was nasty. That was a massive result for Drew Dober. Gregory Rodriguez knocked out Bruno Fajeda and that's going to be my total wireless performance of the night. That was a flip of a result where Fajira knocked him out the first time they fought. Gregory Rodriguez knocked him out with one punch, put him down with one right hand. No follow up shots needed, ended the fight. It was amazing to see Robocop do that to a guy that had knocked him out before. And honestly, it was one of the first shots that he threw the entire fight. It was nuts to watch that. So that's my total wireless performance of the night. That goes to Gregory Rodriguez. One punch, knockout over Bruno Fajeda. Cody Gorebrandt is Xiao Long had a crazy fight. I mean, two points deducted from Xiao Long for low blows. I wish Cody would have fought more after he got those two points deducted from Jiao Long. There just wasn't that much danger anymore. I think he's gonna watch that and kind of hope that he fought more himself when he watches it. But he's back in the win column and ultimately that's what matters. Dante Johnson beat Cody Brundage. Johnson gained a lot of experience, but he's very raw. I'm interested to see what his career looks like as he continues to progress and get better. Alberto Montes submitted Ricky Tercios with the move that he told us he was going to do in the fighter meetings. Hats off to that young man. He has a terribly hard story. You guys need to go follow up and look at this young man and try to get familiar with him because I think he's very good but also his story is very inspiring. Let me even be here today. Big win for. I'm not even gonna bother to say his name again over Cody Durden. Sumadarji beat Asus Zaguilar, Nur Gazai beat Tobias and Raphael Mulatto beat Luke Fernandez. It was a great night, guys. Today I was on cbs. I never would have imagined. We grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana. We got Fox, we got abc. We got CBS because we didn't have cable. Today I actually got to go on CBS free TV in front of so many people. I am living a dream and obviously I worked hard to get here. But it's the people that support me, like every one of you, that allows for these things to happen for me. So I'm very grateful and I'm gracious and I appreciate, appreciate each and every one of you. Vegas always delivers. This is a tremendous fight. Night. It's a tremendous event. So thank you guys for tuning in once again. I appreciate each and every one of you and I'll catch you on the next one. I'm gonna drop a video discussing this White House car part. I thought it was pretty good. Can Alex Brerra become a three division champion? That is nuts. We'll discuss that also, guys, I have a Daniel Cormier show coming up this week with none other than Sugar Sean o', Malley, who is on the White House this weekend. Stick around. I got an interview with the winning coach like I always do. So, like, subscribe, tell your friends, tell their friends that Diesel's got that YouTube channel and I'm doing things like this, giving you access to the ufc. This is what happens after the fight. They start to strike. They break all this down and then the fans get to take photos inside the octagon. It's crazy. Until next time, guys. Peace.

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[Daniel Cormier]

This is Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman

[Rob Gronkowski]

from Dudes on Dudes with Gronk and Jules. Here's your reminder to stay hydrated today.

[Daniel Cormier]

Honestly, I needed that. I'm feeling a little foggy.

[Rob Gronkowski]

That's your body talking. Brain fog is one of the potential signs of mild dehydration. Did you forget that already?

[Daniel Cormier]

Maybe for a second, but I know the others. Thirst, nausea, fatigue, headaches, irritability and dark pee.

[Rob Gronkowski]

There you go. And Liquid IV Sugar Free is clinically demonstrated to hydrate faster than water alone. It's backed by a scientific advisory board. Real experts.

[Daniel Cormier]

Are you saying we're not real experts?

[Rob Gronkowski]

I'm saying you're an expert at picking the best flavors. Sugar free. Strawberry. Watermelon.

[Daniel Cormier]

Wrong. It's sugar free. Mango. Pineapple.

[Rob Gronkowski]

Liquid IV is here to help you with everyday extraordinary hydration. Stay hydrated and stock up at liquid the-iv.com use the code nuthouse for 20 off your first purchase.

[Daniel Cormier]

This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.