"I know he cheated!" - John McCarthy reveals what he said when asked about Daniel Cormier's 'Towelgate conspiracy' by NYSAC

John McCarthy recently opened up about when the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) called him to ask about Daniel Cormier's 'Towelgate conspiracy' before his fight with Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson.

Daniel 'DC' Cormier put his hands on the towel to make weight ahead of his clash against 'Rumble'. 'Big John' stated that he knew Cormier cheated, as a significant amount of weight can come off when an athlete touches the towel during a weigh-in. However, he defended 'DC' at first. That said, he later explained what happened which led to the Commission changing the rules.

Here's what McCarthy said while speaking to Josh Thomson on the Weighing In podcast:

"He was the champ. He was gonna fight 'Rumble' Johnson and if he doesn't make weight, what is the UFC gonna do? Well, they kind of did it with Charles Oliveira. They stripped Charles Oliveira when he didn't make weight. They would have stripped DC 'cause he didn't make weight. I will tell you right now, the New York State Athletic Commission called me right after that, 'Did you see what happened?'"

Watch Cormier's controversial weigh-in:

McCarthy added that it was good for Daniel Cormier that he managed to successfully get by the rules before those were eventually changed:

"I said,'Yeah, I saw.' They go, 'Do you think he cheated?' And I go, 'No, I do not think that DC cheated.' I know he cheated. He absolutely cheated. I go, 'Just his hands touching.' Do you realize how much weight could come off with his hands resting on [the towel]? I said he absolutely cheated. This is what you need to do. They went back, they changed their system. It can't happen again. But he pulled it off at that time. So, good for him."

Watch John McCarthy talk to Josh Thomson about Cormier's weigh-in at UFC 210:

---

Daniel Cormier recently confirmed that he cheated on the scales

Daniel Cormier was recently inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2022. During his induction speech, the former two-division champion admitted to cheating on the scale before his fight against Johnson at UFC 210:

"Guys, I want to tell you something. Because I think right now is the time to be completely transparent. I think I may have grabbed the towel in Buffalo."

Watch Cormier's speech at the UFC Hall of Fame:

Cormier's admission led to fighters and fans reacting on social media. Many even claimed that Charles Oliveira should be given his title back as he was stripped of the championship for missing weight by 0.5lbs ahead of UFC 274.

Do check out the video below on MMA intergender fights made by Sportskeeda: