Paul Anthony Daley[5] (born 21 February 1983) is a British former mixed martial artist and kickboxer.
Born in London, England to parents from the Caribbean, Daley moved to Nottingham at a young age, where he played junior football for Nottingham Forest FC alongside future England international, Jermaine Jenas.
[7] At the age of 18, Daley began training in mixed martial arts after graduation from Carlton-Le-Willows Academy.
[citation needed] Daley made his professional debut in 2003 and compiled a record of 2-2 before signing with startup promotion Cage Rage.
Following a TKO win over Jess Liaudin, Daley fought for the Cage Warriors Welterweight Championship against Abdul Mohamed.
[9][8] Daley had compiled a record of 10-4-2 and was coming off of a win over UFC veteran Dave Strasser before being offered another shot at the Cage Rage British Welterweight Championship, against Ross Mason.
Daley lost via armbar submission in the second round, snapping a six-fight winning streak.
[11] However, on 4 September, it was announced that Daley had agreed to step in for Mike Swick, who had suffered an injury during training and was unable to fight top contender Martin Kampmann at UFC 103.
In his UFC debut, Daley put in an aggressive performance, defeating Kampmann via technical knockout due to a barrage of punches.
Early in the fight Daley dropped Hazelett with a left hook, then followed up with additional punches, winning by knockout.
[16] In the first round, Koscheck appeared to simulate being hit with an illegal knee, which resulted in a point deduction for Daley.
After the end of the third and final round, Daley approached Koscheck from behind and attempted to hit him in the face with a left hook.
[18][19][20] Daley apologised for his actions after returning to the United Kingdom, saying that Koscheck's trash-talking pushed him over the edge, but that there was "no excuse" for his "rash decision.
Diaz won by TKO three seconds from the end of the first round, marking the first time Daley had been stopped by strikes.
After some months, Daley requested to be released from his Strikeforce contract, citing a lack of frequent fights as the reason for his wanting to leave.
[30] Daley defeated Daniel Acacio at an Impact Fighting Championships event in Sydney, Australia.
"[32] Daley faced Jorge Masvidal at Shark Fights 13: Jardine vs. Prangley in September 2010, and won via unanimous decision.
On 15 June, a week after being released from his Strikeforce contract, Daley signed with Bellator Fighting Championships.
Daley had a successful debut at Bellator 72 against Rudy Bears in a welterweight fight, defeating him by first-round TKO due to strikes.
[39][40] Daley later claimed the charges had been thrown out for lack of evidence, clearing him to apply for a visa to compete within Bellator's ninth season.
[41] On 25 July, Bellator announced that Daley had been released from the organisation due to ongoing legal troubles.
The violent nature of the incident, combined with the prospect of continued visa problems due to the fact he was now a convicted felon, made Bellator officials decide to cut ties with Daley.
[44] His first fight back in the British promotion was against Romario Manoel da Silva at BAMMA 14 on 14 December.
On 21 July 2014, Bellator MMA announced that they had signed Paul Daley along with Melvin Manhoef.
Daley's next fight was scheduled to be a rematch against Josh Koscheck at Bellator London, as the co-main event, on 16 July 2016.
On 6 June Koscheck withdrew from the fight for undisclosed reasons and he was replaced by former Bellator Welterweight Champion Douglas Lima.
[77] After a record of 21-3 as an amateur he started his Pro Career going 11-0 winning 2 English Titles, then he left Kickboxing and continued with MMA instead.