The knockouts, the wars, the swagger; Paul Daley will be remembered for many things after MMA, but few could forget his UFC 113 defeat to Josh Koscheck after which he punched his rival in anger after the bell. With Daley’s reputation crushed, he was fired from the UFC. Has “Semtex” seen Koscheck since? “I saw him at a Bellator event in San Diego recently,” said the Nottingham striker, who has rebuilt himself by fighting all over the globe, most recently as part of Scott Coker’s Bellator stable.
So did he and ‘Kos’ chat? “We didn’t talk, I sat in front of him but we didn’t acknowledge each other. We don’t talk at all and we’re not friends – that’s it. I don’t know why we don’t get on – I think we smack talked ourselves into disliking each other.”
Since that grudge match Daley has lost wars in Strikeforce – against Nick Diaz and Tyron Woodley (both 2011), before short-circuiting the likes of Romario da Silva (2013) and Marinho da Rocha (2014) in front of BAMMA audiences. That’s not forgetting his blossoming kickboxing career with six successive wins in 2014, or the opening of his Spirit Dojo training hub in Nottingham.
A lot has changed of course, but Daley’s disdain for Koscheck remains. A rematch could be closer than ever now with Koscheck also signing for Bellator. “This is a chance for me to avenge my most infamous defeat,” says Daley. “At 37-years-old it’s the biggest fight out there for him, plus I’m in my prime, so it’s worked out well for both of us. It’s fate. That’s life. I think it’s fantastic. We can both make a lot of money from this fight.”
Not everyone is impressed with Koscheck’s latest move. Once a prominent contender who lost a decision to Georges St-Pierre in 2007, the veteran wrestler suffered five consecutive defeats on his way out of the UFC. Alarmingly, four of them came by stoppages. “If he does what he does well, which is wrestle, he can go far in Bellator,” Daley points out. “The Bellator division is a bit fresher than the UFC’s, where most of the guys have been competing at the highest level for so long. Bellator doesn’t have those hardened welterweights just yet. Once he gets a win or two under his belt, the rematch will happen.”
The Brit, famed for being a part of Nottingham’s Team Rough House camp, has his next test on July 18 when he faces New Hampshire submission wizard Dennis Olson. Daley is cryptic when previewing his fifty-second MMA contest, not giving much away. “I know a lot about him, at least I know what I need to know. Yes, he’s extremely motivated but everyone who fights me is. He’s good on the ground but no more so than anyone else I’ve fought. I’m very confident of winning this fight but I’m also very confident it’s going to be a tough fight.”
Elsewhere at Bellator 140 Douglas Lima defends his 170lbs strap against Russian wild-child Andrey Koreshkov. It’s a clash Daley has even more vested interest in after Lima pulled out of their February title scrap due to an injury. “I already knew Lima wasn’t training much so I wasn’t too gutted,” he reveals. “Everything happens for a reason and everything’s worked out well for me.”
“Koreshkov is a dangerous fight for Lima though, because he’s so big and muscular at the weight. Andrey’s a very dangerous opponent who always looks great on the scales, whereas I’ve heard Lima struggles to make 170lbs, plus he always looks drawn on the scales. I think Koreshkov training with Alexander Shlemenko (former middleweight kingpin) is really important. Younger fighters need to be trained by elite, high-level athletes and that’s what gets them to the next level. I see Koreshkov winning it within two rounds.”
The challenger represents a new wave of MMA fighter, and at 24-years-old, he has already spent five rounds with Ben Askren – losing by TKO in 2013 – and holds a record reading 17-1. More unusually, especially considering his nationality, Koreshkov’s background lies exclusively in striking. Plus, when Daley and Koscheck first swapped hostilities, Andrey hadn’t even made his debut. So as a veteran at 32, how has Daley stayed injury-free?
“It’s not just how you spar, but how often. You have to be sensible, know when to apply pressure and when to ease off. Sometimes my sparring is focused only on body shots and we don’t allow head shots. We just work on angles, technique and fitness now. I’ve done my crazy three-hour sessions in the early part of my career. Today’s spars are shorter and more intense.”
A fighter at heart, the Midlands man has no lack of motivation despite nearing his mid-30s. With a title belt in his sights and a young family and wife to cater for at home, Daley’s thirst is just as strong as it always has been. “My life is fighting, nothing else. If I’m not training, I’m teaching. If I’m not teaching, I’m training. If I’m not cornering my fighters at the weekend I’m watching fights. This is martial arts… It’s boxing, wrestling, kickboxing… I’m always in training and I’m a cerebral trainer; I’m never stale.”
Indeed, while an ancient feud rumbles on, so does Paul’s obsession with martial arts. He longs for the old days when Pride, the louder than life Japanese promotion, brought a sense of razzmatazz to the sport – an effect not unlike that of professional wrestling. “That was the dream, to fight in Pride,” says Daley, his excitement audible over the phone. Back then the welterweight was a young pup tearing through the ranks in Cage Rage, making headlines for his powerful fists as well as his colourful post-fight interviews.
“At the time, the champions were making more money than the UFC guys, plus the fights were way more entertaining. There’s something missing now. The fireworks, the entrances, the screaming announcers, the soccer kicks… there’s something missing. In their pre-fight videos they used to follow Fedor (Emilianenko) into the woods and film him training. That was way before the UFC started releasing their videos.”
And with Pride still on Daley’s mind, so is his old enemy. We all thought Daley and Koscheck were a closed chapter, but now their rematch could be just around the corner. Stranger things have happened.
