Jacobe Smith defends Daniel Cormier against Dominick Reyes' criticism

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Daniel Cormier | Chris Unger, Zuffa LLC Jacobe Smith knows Daniel Cormier better than most, and believes the former two-division UFC champion and current color commentator is a bit misunderstood. The undefeated Smith returns to action in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 123 event against veteran Randy Brown. The Fight Night card follows a spectacular UFC 333 card where “DC” served in the color commentary role. While a chunk of the fan base had their critiques of Cormier’s performance, none were more vocal than Dominick Reyes, who ripped Cormier’s commentary during his knockout win over Azamat Murzakanov, giving him an “F+” grade. Smith, who is coached by Cormier, gave his thoughts on the situation ahead of the biggest fight of his career. “They’re just dealing with a phase in their career where things ain’t going 100 percent like they want or they’re not getting the shine that they want to get to where they know they want to be, and, you know, they get a little butt-hurt and get to running their mouth talking shit that they don’t really mean,” Smith told MMA Fighting. “So I guarantee you, [if] they sat down face to face with them, they would understand how good of a guy [Cormier] is. “I mean, I live it. I see it every day I get to be around him, his family. When we’re in public and it gets overwhelming and how you deal with it, it’s so professional and I could see Conor McGregor in that situation and him having his security keep people away and like, no, he’s the most down-to-earth person. People are going to have their opinions and talk their shit and I guess that’s just the world we live in.” The 30-year-old Smith is 4-0 in the UFC, finishing all four opponents inside of two rounds, and 11 of 13 overall in his pro career. Despite being one of the sport’s brightest and most dangerous up-and-comers, Smith says he deals with his share of haters as well. “You just can’t think too much about it,” Smith said. “It’s just like a fan. I’m out here knocking people out winning and they’re talking shit, telling me how bad I am, they can’t wait to see me get knocked out… or my mother is this and that. I mean, people are going to talk, you just got to let it be, blow it in the wind, is what I would say. “It gets terrible. If I went through the worst things, you would, you would not believe me.” “Cobe” now steps in on less than two weeks’ notice as a replacement for an injured Carlos Leal to face Brown, who makes his 23rd walk to the octagon and looks to snap a two-fight skid. In his most recent bout, Brown dropped a decision to Kevin Holland at UFC 327 in April. Smith has trained with Brown in the past and couldn’t have more respect for him. While it’s a different feeling competing against somebody he’s friendly with, Smith is ready to make a big leap in one of the promotion’s deepest divisions. “We go in there and handle business, get out 14-0 and hopefully get a top 15 opponent,” Smith said. “I’m coming in here to create legacy, go win a belt, put myself in a position to go fight for that belt, and this is the best opponent up until this day that I’ve had, and I guess I’ll keep showing these people that got something to say and my fans that know where I’m gonna get to.”