Paul Daley Leaves No Doubt, He Wants to Fight in the UFC, but Would Dana White Have Him Back?
Paul Daley was recently cut loose by Bellator MMA due to ongoing legal issues, and is free to fight for whomever wants him.
Having fought for the UFC in the past and currently on a four-fight winning streak, would he ever be welcomed back to fight in the Octagon?
It doesn’t appear so.
When told that Daley has mentioned that he would like to come back to the UFC, company president Dana White seemed somewhat surprised and not too thrilled with the idea.
“He wants to come back now? I thought he hated this place,” White said in his UFC on Fox 8 post-fight scrum with reporters. “I don't think so.”
Whether White thinks it’s a good idea or not, Daley made it clear that he would welcome the opportunity.
“Given the opportunity Dana, I would be right back in there, please just send me that contract,” he posted on his Facebook page over the weekend.
Daley was unceremoniously released by the UFC following his UFC 113 bout with Josh Koscheck in May of 2010. Daley lost the fight via unanimous decision, but was handed his walking papers before leaving the arena that night for cheap-shotting Koscheck after the fight had concluded.
During the event’s post-fight press conference UFC president Dana White said, “He’ll never come back here again. He’ll never come back.”
So far, it appears that White is ready to hold true to that statement, although Daley has long apologized for the incident and yearned for a return.
“After the incident with Koscheck, the apology was immediate. I made a public apology. Everybody knows I’m not proud of what happened,” Daley told MMAWeekly Radio in 2011. “I don’t take any pride in what I did after the Koscheck fight, but I feel like, purely based on fighting, I feel like I’ve proven myself as a fighter.
“I’m open to talking to anybody about the situation. For me, I’ve spoke about it and I’ve always voiced my opinions on the whole UFC situation. I’m maturing as a fighter, as a person, and I’m quite open to sitting down and discussing things with whoever it needs to be discussed with in order to compete within the UFC.”
For now, however, it appears that Dailey may have to continue fighting elsewhere.
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