Last Saturday, Daniel Cormier’s reign as UFC light heavyweight champion came to a crashing halt, as he was put down by a third-round head-kick dealt by his rival Jon Jones. Some 24 hours later, Cormier released a statement on his Instagram account, during which he congratulated Jones, and apologized to referee John McCarthy for initially protesting the stoppage.

First off, thank you all for the kind words. I have felt the support. Congratulations to Jon Jones and his team. They did a phenomenal job and got the victory. Also, to Big John McCarthy, I would like to apologize for acting up with you. I am thankful for the time you gave me to try and defend myself and stay in the fight. You are the best in the business for a reason. I also wanna thank my team and my coaches. I love you all from the bottom of my heart. Your time and energy is greatly appreciated. You guys did a wonderful job, I was ready. It’s a fist fight and things happen. Dana White and the @ufc, thank you for being the premiere organization in all of MMA. Again, congrats to Team Jones and JacksonWink. Love you all. I’ll see you soon. DC 📷@layziethesavage

A post shared by Daniel “DC” Cormier (@dc_mma) on Jul 30, 2017 at 7:36pm PDT

Since then, McCarthy has responded, praising Cormier for the way he has represented the sport, and for his skill inside the Octagon.

1/2 @dc_mma U have nothing to apologize for. You have been an incredible champion who has represented the sport of MMA with class & dignity

— Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) July 31, 2017

2/2 @dc_mma you also fought a great fight against an incredible competitor. It was an honor being in the cage with 2 of the greatest #AskBJM

— Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) July 31, 2017

What did you think of John McCarthy’s stoppage in Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier’s UFC 214 fight?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 7/31/2017.