UFC 192 winner Daniel Cormier on Alexander Gustafsson: 'This is the worst I've ever been beat'

HOUSTON – After his split-decision win over Alexander Gustafsson in the UFC 192 main event, Daniel Cormier was pretty blunt about the war he’d just been in.

“Everything hurts. You have to be honest. You have to tell the truth: That guy beat me up tonight,” Cormier said.

Cormier (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) went 25 minutes with Gustafsson (16-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) at Toyota Center in Houston for the first defense of his light heavyweight title. He took the nod from two of the three judges, while Gustafsson got the nod from a third.

Cormier was a little critical of Gustafsson leading into the fight, saying the Swede could go back to his home country and be a model after he beat him. But he said that was owed to selling the fight.

Instead, just as he told Joe Rogan in the cage immediately after the scores were read, he said at the post-event news conference that Gustafsson had earned his respect and made him a better fighter.

“Alexander Gustafsson is an absolute stud,” Cormier said. “He’s one of the best fighters in the world. The sport needs guys like Alexander Gustafsson who can go out there and lay it all on the line against the best fighters in the world.”

Check out the video above for more from Cormier at the post-fight press conference.

For complete coverage of UFC 192, check out the UFC Events section of the site.