Paul Daley

Paul Anthony Daley (born 21 February 1983) is a British former mixed martial artist and kickboxer.

A professional competitor from 2003 to 2022, Daley competed for the UFC, Bellator MMA, Cage Rage, Final Fight Championship, Strikeforce, EliteXC, ShoXC, BAMMA, Cage Warriors, Cage Contender, Shark Fights, Pancrase, and Impact FC.

Daley is a former Cage Rage World Welterweight Champion and Cage Rage British Welterweight Champion.

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.

Daley began training in karate at the age of eight, before transitioning into Muay Thai.

Daley is also a former member of the British Army, having served as a reconnaissance driver for the Household Cavalry.

At the age of 18, Daley began training in mixed martial arts after graduation from Carlton-Le-Willows Academy.

Daley has two children, Tai and Ayana, with his long-term partner Elizabeth Houston.

They live in Nottingham, England.

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.

The fight ended in a draw after five rounds.

Daley next fought veteran Paul Jenkins at Cage Rage 11 for the Cage Rage British Welterweight Championship, a rematch of their fight at Cage Warriors 8, which ended in a knockout win for Daley.

The two fought to a draw in the rematch.

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 won via majority decision, becoming the new Cage Rage British Welterweight Champion.

After defending his title twice and picking up a knockout win over Duane Ludwig in Strikeforce, Daley was scheduled to make his third title defence in a title unification against Cage Rage World Welterweight Champion Mark Weir at Cage Rage 23.

Daley won via second-round knockout, therefore holding both titles.

After two more knockout wins in the ShoXC and Cage Warriors promotions, Daley fought Jake Shields at EliteXC: Heat for the EliteXC Welterweight Championship.

Daley lost via armbar submission in the second round, snapping a six-fight winning streak.

Daley then compiled a record of 3–1 in his next four fights with two appearances for the MFC in Canada.

Daley was scheduled to fight Jay Hieron at Affliction: Trilogy, but the bout was cancelled due to Affliction Entertainment folding.

Following Affliction's collapse, Daley signed a four-fight contract with the UFC.

Daley's first fight was scheduled to be on the preliminary card of UFC 103 against Brian Foster, which was due to air on ESPN (UK), prior to the main card.

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.

Daley was expected to face Carlos Condit on 2 January 2010 at UFC 108.

However, Condit withdrew from the card after suffering a severe cut to his hand.

He was replaced by Dustin Hazelett.

After failing to make the stipulated 170 lb for the Hazelett fight, Daley was fined 10% of his fight purse.

The bout was fought at a catchweight of 172 lbs.

Early in the fight Daley dropped Hazelett with a left hook, then followed up with additional punches, winning by knockout.

At UFC 113, on 8 May 2010, Daley fought Josh Koscheck, with the winner destined to become the next challenger against Georges St-Pierre for the UFC Welterweight Championship and the opportunity to coach against St-Pierre on the twelfth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

In the first round, Koscheck appeared to simulate being hit with an illegal knee, which resulted in a point deduction for Daley.

Koscheck went on to control Daley with his wrestling for most of the fight, and was declared the winner by unanimous decision.

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.

Referee Dan Miragliotta pinned Daley against the fence to subdue him.

In an interview at the conclusion of the event, UFC president Dana White announced that he was banishing Daley from the UFC for life.

White said, "There's no excuse for that. These guys are professional athletes. You don't ever hit a guy blatantly after the bell like that, whether you're frustrated or not."

He added, "I don't care if he fights in every show all over the world and becomes the best and everybody thinks he's the pound-for-pound best in the world, he will never fight in the UFC ever again."