British welterweight Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley (28-1-2) is set to headline the Ringside 12 event in Montreal, Canada against former UFC vet Luigi Fioravanti (22-10) on October 1st.
This will be Daley’s first return to Montreal since he was released by the Ultimate Fighting Championship after striking opponent Josh Koscheck after the bell at UFC 113 in May of 2010. Since that time ‘Semtex’ has put a record together of 5-2 including a Strikeforce welterweight title fight with Nick Diaz in April of this year.
In a recent interview with HALO MMA (via FightNetwork.com) Daley talked about his upcoming fight with Fioravanti as well as his desire to face “top guys” wherever those fights take him in the world. He does hope though, that if he can keep impressing the fans, that it will earn him a shot at returning to the UFC.
I read recently that your return to the UFC is the central focus at the minute in your career. Is this still your primary goal?
Paul Daley: My real focus is winning first and foremost but the key is to keep winning and to keep fighting the top guys I’ve fought like Nick Diaz, Tyron Woodley, Jorge Masvidal and Daniel Acacio – and they’ve all fought at the highest level. I just want to keep fighting the best guys outside of the big show until the opportunity arises for me to get back there and make another run at it. If you’re in the UFC and you’re winning fights then people are going to watch you fight regardless of what you’ve done before in some ways.So are there any fights out there at the minute that really appeal to you?
Paul Daley: There’s great fights all over the world to be honest with you I’ve just got to keep winning and improving and things will fall into place. I’m working hard to get better all the time and there’s sure to be more and more great fights all over the world.