INGLEWOOD, Calif. – When Paul Daley looked across the cage and saw opponent Brennan Ward’s girlfriend crying, he got another reminder about the tough nature of his business.
Granted, it was a lot tougher for Ward (14-5 MMA, 9-5 BMMA), who suffered a flying-knee knockout loss to Daley (39-14-2 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) in Saturday’s Bellator 170 co-headliner.
Midway through the first round of the Spike-televised welterweight bout, which took place at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., Daley connected on the brutal blow:
“Me and Brennan, we were hanging out a lot prior to this fight at all of the other events,” Daley, who now has 29 knockouts in 39 career wins, said after the win. “His last last victory, over Saad Awad (at Bellator 163), I sat ringside with girlfriend and his family and coaches, and I was celebrating with them. So it was a difficult situation for me at first to fight him.”
The victory brought about a jubilant celebration, but when he saw Ward laid out, it was quickly muted.
“To get a victory, it was kind of mixed emotions,” Daley said. “The first two minutes was running around like a headless chicken and going crazy. And then I look across, and I see his girlfriend, and she’s crying. It was hard. I just hope he’s OK.”
Thankfully, Bellator officials quickly announced that Ward responsive and being transported to a nearby hospital for observation. Additionally, the former middleweight title challenger gave a thumbs-up and signaled to the crowd as he was carried out on a stretcher.
Daley, meanwhile, is anxious to get back in the cage – “barring I don’t don’t drink too much vodka tonight,” he said. Immediately after the win, he called for former UFC title challenger and recent Bellator signee Rory MacDonald (18-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), who’s No. 4 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings.
That elicited a response from McDonald (via Twitter):
In the post-event press conference, Daley mentioned some other options, including Douglas Lima and Benson Henderson, but he said MacDonald is the fight with the biggest potential.
“His credentials speak for themselves,” he said. “He’s a very tough guy. I like to test myself against fighters like him. He has a huge name. I think it would be a huge fight for Bellator, and they’re the kind of matchups I need to be in to be motivated for those dangerous fights.”
For complete coverage of Bellator 170, check out the MMA Events section of the site.
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