The expectations were unclear when Paul Daley debuted at UFC 103. A late replacement for Mike Swick, Daley represented a final frontier between dangerous opponent Martin Kampmann’s shot at the UFC Welterweight Championship.<\/p>\n
But Daley did not simply derail the talented Kampmann from his title quest–he won quickly with a devastating display of knockout power. He thus instantly made himself a threat in the Welterweight division.<\/p>\n
Still, some were not convinced. With several submission losses on his resume, Daley actually entered his UFC 108 fight with Dustin Hazelett, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, as a slight underdog. Not even a Spike TV countdown special that hyped Daley as an absolute monster managed to convince odds makers and critics that the British striker was a lock to defeat “McLovin.”<\/p>\n
Defeat Hazelett he did, and once again, it involved a lethal display of punching. Paul Daley scored a knockout win at 2:24 of Round One.<\/p>\n
This time, everyone in the industry is taking notice.<\/p>\n
“He burst onto the scene here,” said UFC President Dana White at the UFC 108 press conference.<\/p>\n
But, according to White, Daley is still at least one big win away from getting a crack at Georges St. Pierre’s Welterweight Championship.<\/p>\n
“He’s going to have to fight one of the top two contenders before [facing GSP],” confirmed White. He clarified, “The two best guys out there are [Josh] Koscheck and [Jon] Fitch.”<\/p>\n
As getting those two teammates to “fight each other is a nightmare,” White envisions Daley fighting one of them this year.<\/p>\n
Of course, as Daley reminded reporters at the presser, Thiago Alves is in the mix as well. Alves is set to get a rematch with Jon Fitch at UFC 111 in March, and a win would certainly cement Alves’ standing at the top of the division.<\/p>\n
In breaking down the potential fights, Daley noted, “I’d like to fight a Fitch or Koscheck just to prove I have improved takedown defense…I just haven’t had a chance to display it cause I keep knocking out people standing up.”<\/p>\n
But that does not mean Daley has no interest in a fight with Muay Thai ace Alves. Because his wins have come so quickly, Daley explained, “I haven’t displayed my full array of stand-up skills,” and would welcome the chance to do battle with a lethal, talented striker like the Brazilian.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"adace-sponsor":[],"yoast_head":"\n