Top British welterweight Paul Daley (33-12-2) has once again set his sights on a UFC return, having been released from Bellator Fighting Championship last week.
Recent legal woes were the cause for Daley’s Bellator dismissal, having been found guilty of an assault charge without being handed a sentence (full story HERE). Despite Daley labbelling his release as “shady”, in refernce to Bellator’s public reveal of the fighter’s court business, VISA issues would most likely prevent him from competing on US soil, begging the question, how could a UFC return be possible at this point?
Despite this, ‘Semtex’ spoke out through Facebook. Addressing UFC president Dana White, he wrote, “Given the opportunity Dana, I would be right back in there, please just send me that contract.”
Appearing on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Daley explained:
“Of course, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I wanted to return to the UFC. It’s the biggest, the most recognized MMA promotion out there. A lot of people when they leave the organization they have to say wherever they’re fighting at is the best and the greatest just to save face. It’s just one of those things. But yeah, definitely I want to return to the UFC.”
Highlighting Dana White’s strong dislike of lacklustre performances, Daley continued, stating he is the “UK’s best pound-for-pound fighter”, and that he will put on an entertaining show in the UFC.
“I don’t really know what to say,” he added. “The best thing I can say is I want to be back with UFC. It would be a dream come true to be back with the UFC. The things that I did say bad about the UFC, it was like what most fighters would do if they weren’t in the best organization in the world. You don’t want to be No. 2, you want to be No. 1. I just think it’s fitting that I’m in the organization.”
Dana White responded, “I heard he couldn’t get a visa, and they’re real strict here now on visas. I thought he hated the UFC and said he’d never want to come back here and never wanted to fight here again. What changed?”
Daley was cut from the UFC roster back in 2010, having ‘sucker-punched’ American Josh Koscheck following the final round of their encounter. Dana White claimed that Daley would never compete in the UFC again, however a 10-4 record since then, accompanied by a current run of four successive knockouts, surely makes ‘Semtex’ a tempting prospect.
Photo credit: Mark Blundell
