Just one month after UFC fighter Anderson Silva disgraced Mixed Martial Arts' leading promoter, Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White gets hit with another black mark from one of his fighters.
Saturday, May 8, UFC 113 took place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. One of the bouts on the card was a welterweight match to determine the top contender to welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre. Josh Koscheck faced Paul Daley for that title match.
In what was a fairly lackluster match, Koscheck won an unanymous decision over Daley. Trouble began brewing, however, in the first round when Daley appeared to drop a knee to the head of Koscheck, which is an illegal blow. It's disputed whether the knee actually connected, but Koscheck played it as he had been hurt by the manuever.
Trouble completed itself upon announcement of the decision for Koscheck. Daley proceeded to walk up to Koscheck and sucker punch Koscheck.
After the incident, president Dana White expressed his outrage, referring to the move as one of the dumbest thing he had ever seen. "He's done," White said. "I don't care if he's the best 170-pounder in the world, he'll never fight in the UFC again."
Koscheck was a little less harsh about the situation, telling ESPN, "I hope the best for Paul Daley," Koscheck said. "I don't dislike him. I dislike how he acted, but I don't dislike him and I hope the UFC will give him another chance."
With two incidents at two consecutive UFC events, is the sport beginning to experience an unraveling caused by the weight of its own popularity? Are the stakes getting so high the fighters are getting more desperate to succeed? It will be interesting to see if White responds to this only by punishing Daley, or if systemic changes are underway.
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