Sara McMann: Patrick Cummins shouldn’t have poked the bear
“I think that poking the bear and getting Daniel Cormier this pissed off, I don’t think it was a good idea,” said fellow Olympian Sara McMann.
Ronda Rousey shines in the media spotlight, receiving an unprecedented degree of mainstream coverage. Rousey’s UFC 170 opponent and fellow Olympic medalist Sara McMann prefers to shine on the mat and in the cage, avoiding media to the extent she can.
However, last week McMann reached out to MMAFighting’s Ariel Helawani, after Patrick Cummins related that he had made Daniel Cormier cry in the wrestling room.
“I don’t think people understand what we go through to be prepared for the Olympics,” related McMann, a silver medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics. “Wrestling is kind of different than a lot of other sports.”
“During these practices, we are always down on points. We have people rotating in on us. They are people in our weight class that are eating whatever they want, they’re fresh because they get breaks and we don’t. They have no pressure on them. It’s a little bit ridiculous because these practices are designed to break us. These coaches won’t stop until you are flaking out, until you are at your absolute lowest point. That’s the way it’s been in wrestling forever.”
“To say that he made him cry, that’s just crazy to me.”
“I think Pat is a really great athlete, and I think this is going to be a tough fight, but I think that poking the bear and getting Daniel this pissed off, I don’t think it was a good idea. I don’t think he’s someone who breaks down when he gets pissed off. I think he’s someone who goes for blood. I don’t think that was the right approach to get into Daniel’s head.”
Ironically, Cummins has probably received more press for what he did than McMann has received for being an exemplar athlete.
“That’s the great thing about fighting Ronda, she’ll sell the show,” said McMann. “And that’s fine with me.”