Paul Daley’s always been one of the most interesting characters in mixed martial arts—at least from my point of view.
It’s not really that he’s a great martial artist—because he’s not. But he does have that one-punch knockout power and one hell of a temper to go along with it. Those two traits make him a must-watch in my book, even if his wrestling defense has failed him at important points in his career.
Obviously, one of those points was his UFC 113 bout with Josh Koscheck. Koscheck smothered Daley for three rounds, frustrating him on the way to winning a unanimous decision. After the fight, Daley famously sucker-punched Koscheck and punched his own ticket out of the UFC.
Does Daley regret the incident? He discussed it on last night’s episode of MMA Uncensored Live:
I do, I do. But, you know, everything happens for a reason. I’m here now, in New York and, yeah, I feel great.
Why did Daley punch Koscheck, anyway? We’ve never gotten a satisfying answer to that question, other than sheer (and understandable) frustration:
You know, it was a very frustrating fight to be in. I wasn’t thinking much. I sort of had flashbacks to my old days, and I just thought, ‘This guy’s punked me out on national TV. I just have to get my own back.’ So I did, and it didn’t work out very well.
It was back and forth. He’d say something, I’d say something. I think the final thing that was said, I said, ‘When this is done, when I get up, I’m gonna hit you.’ And I don’t think he believed me. I told him that. He’ll tell you that. I stick to my word.
Daley also said that he and UFC president Dana White—who famously said that Daley would never be welcome back in the UFC—are not on speaking terms, and he’s not sure they’ll ever make amends.
Daley has a chance to turn the page with his Bellator debut next month.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com