There’s nothing much left to say about Paul Daley that hasn’t already been said about Gilbert Yvel. They say give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. If you give Gilbert Yvel a referee, he’s right hook him in the ear and soccer kick him on the mat. Yvel is one of the few if not the only MMA fighter who was disqualified due to knocking the referee out cold and then kicking him afterward. Daley didn’t quite KO anyone on Saturday…aside from his UFC career. Gareth A. Davies from The Telegraph caught up with Semtex shortly after he landed in the UK and Daley wanted to issue the following statement to all of his fans, Josh Koscheck and the UFC. Time to dust off those reading glasses.
“I’ve had a long flight home to consider my actions and regret the mistake I made on Saturday. I would like to apologise to the UFC and the Athletic Commission for what I’ve done as well as all the fans and sponsors that support me.”
“I would also like to offer my sincerest apologies to Josh Koscheck who did not deserve the cheap shot I threw. He did what he needed to do in order to win the fight and get the job done, and I foolishly reacted to the situation.”
“There is no excuse for my actions and I know what I did was very unprofessional. I was immensely frustrated by a collection of things that took place throughout the fight as well as leading up to it, but I’m certainly not trying to condone or excuse my actions.”
“Josh implemented his game plan perfectly taking me down and staying on top of me for the majority of the fight. I was also frustrated about him claiming (and acting like) I knee’d him in the head on the ground when it was clear for all to see in the video replay that I didn’t connect at all with the knee I threw.”
“Then finally, the verbal abuse Josh hit me with in the final 30 seconds of the fight simply pushed me over the edge and my frustrations came out as I knew I’d lost the fight, was unhappy with my own performance and had then been ridiculed by my opponent to top things off.”
“This is certainly no excuse for my actions; I fully deserve to be punished for what I did and hope that everyone I have disappointed can forgive my rash decision. I feel very disappointed in myself for losing my cool and hope that I am able to address my temperament and bounce back from this low point in my career.”
“I feel ashamed and embarrassed by what I did and hope that together my team and I can get through this issue. It will be a long road back from where I am now to earning the trust and respect of the UFC and the MMA fans that have supported me for so long, I know I’ve let you all down but I’m determined to make it up to you all.”
Props to Daley for actually issuing an apology, one that will most likely not be read by Dana White. Dude went from fighting for a title shot to being exiled from UFC in 15 minutes. That’s beyond nuts. [Source]
