Australian Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight Jacob Malkoun returned from a two-year layoff in emphatic fashion at UFC 325, dominating Torrez Finney across three rounds to earn a unanimous decision inside Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. In the process, Malkoun handed Finney the first loss of his professional career.

But according to Malkoun, the fight wasn’t just against an undefeated opponent — it also came with an unexpected wrinkle at the commentary desk.

Former UFC Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier was cageside calling the action, while simultaneously serving as Finney’s coach. And Malkoun says he could hear it.

“To be honest, I could hear him commentate when I was moving,” Malkoun said during his post-fight media scrum. “For some reason in my brain, I was listening to my corner, but I could hear DC because I know he was coaching him. I’m not letting this guy beat me because DC is in his corner. I was going to smash him.

“I couldn’t lose a grappling exchange in front of him either. I wanted to show that I’m better than his guy,” Malkoun continued. “Just him being there commentating, I’m listening and wondering whose side you’re on — because that’s bias, you know what I mean? Commentate what you see. It is what it is.”

Finney relocated his entire training camp to Gilroy, California, ahead of UFC 325 and is currently training under Cormier, who has leaned back into coaching after his stint on The Ultimate Fighter. That relationship, combined with Cormier’s role as a broadcaster, has reignited a familiar debate among fans and fighters alike.

Should Cormier — or any commentator — be removed from the desk when one of their active fighters is competing?

Cormier has faced accusations of alleged favoritism toward former American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) teammates like Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, those situations differed in that Cormier never actively coached them.

Cormier has repeatedly dismissed claims of bias.

“I don’t mind addressing this whole bias thing. I think it’s absurd,” Cormier said previously. “I’ve called Khabib’s fights, Luke Rockhold, Deron Winn, and Islam Makhachev. I’ve called all of their fights, and I feel like I have done their opponents justice. I go out of my way to make sure that we do their opponents justice. I’m a professional, and for as much as I love my teammates, I understand the difference to separate myself from that.”

Still, the optics of openly coaching a fighter while simultaneously calling their bout live may hit differently.

Finney fell to 0-1 under Cormier and lost his undefeated record, while Malkoun improves to 5-3 inside the Octagon — and may have unintentionally reignited a debate the UFC can’t ignore forever.

For complete UFC 325 results and play-by-play, click here.