It’s hard to blame Paul Daley for being happy with how things are turning out in 2015
Not only did the veteran British pugilist return to North America after a long absence, but he’s got his next several fights laid out for him in a manner pro fighters rarely get to experience.
“It’s perfect,” Daley said in a phone interview with MMAFighting.com. “This is exactly the way you want it as a fighter.”
The welterweight will meet Dennis Olson on Friday at Bellator 140; he’s expected to compete in a kickboxing fight in Bellator’s combined show with Glory in San Jose in September; and somewhere down the road, it sure looks like he’ll get a long-awaited shot at redemption against rival Josh Koscheck, an opportunity he thought he might never get.
While there’s no date set for the latter, it’s also no secret Bellator signed Koscheck to play off the publicity of their UFC 113 scrap in 2010, one of the most notorious fights in MMA history.
Given the way the planets seem to have aligned, Daley dares to dream big when asked about interest in the fight.
“When we meet up, that [Bellator] ratings record for Kimbo [Slice] and [Ken] Shamrock, it’s going to be shattered,” Daley said. “The people want to see this fight, and Koscheck won’t stop blabbing about it, which only builds up the fight, so I’m happy to oblige. By the time it happens, it will be the biggest thing Bellator’s ever done.”
Daley’s bout with Koscheck went down into MMA infamy. Koscheck, by and large, outwrestled and flustered Daley over the course of the bout. After the matchup, the two exchanged heated words, then Daley drilled Koscheck with an uppercut.
After the show, an enraged Dana White declared Daley would never again fight in the UFC, and to date, he hasn’t, not even when Daley became one of the sport’s top free agents after stringing together a big string of finishes in 2012-13.
It’s clear Daley still has strong residual emotions from the evening. Especially since, the way Daley sees it, the fact that Koscheck appeared to fake damage from an alleged illegal knee during the fight, one of the factors which had him so enraged, has more or less gotten lost in the fight’s lore.
“Here’s what I know … he faked an illegal knee,” Daley said, and replays appear to back up his claim. “He faked it, the crowd turned on him, he didn’t care, he got a breather. That’s the type of man Josh Koscheck is at heart. That’s who he is. I haven’t forgotten.”
No doubt, the lingering ill will between the two, and the fact both will tell anyone with a recorder in hand exactly what they think about the other, will keep a potential rematch in the headlines. But what about the fight itself? What might go different this time? Daley has a couple theories.
“I mean, look at the way he’s fought in his last several fights,” Daley said. “He keeps getting knocked out and submitted. He’s not the fighter he used to be. I guess maybe his investments aren’t paying off and maybe he needs another big paycheck or to two maintain his lifestyle, so in that way I’m happy to oblige.”
The flipside is that Daley doesn’t see himself as the fighter he used to be, albeit in a different way.
“I was younger and less mature back then,” said Daley. “I let myself be goaded into fighting Koscheck’s fight. That’s not going to happen this time. I believe my record since then speaks for itself.”
Of course, all these grand plans — the return to kickboxing, which would mark his two dozenth bout in that sport, and the big Koscheck rematch — could be moot if he goes out and loses to the unheralded Olson on Friday night. The New Hampshire native has a familiar MMA journeyman’s story: Olson has been fighting professionally since 2006. He was 11-2 at one point, but has lost five of his past eight. And he’s never gotten an opportunity remotely as big as the one he’ll get Friday night.
A win over Daley makes all Olson’s labor over the years worthwhile. And Daley knows it.
“Take a look at my record,” said Daley (36-13-2). “You’ll see some of the biggest names who have ever competed in the sport, and you’ll see some guys you’ve probably never heard of. I didn’t get as far as I have without taking each fighter seriously. I expect Mr. Olson to fight like it’s the fight of his life and I’ll prepare accordingly.”