Paul Daley did not impress, lashes at the crowd
The British cage fighter Paul Daley defeated Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision on Shark Fight 13. The Briton's win is unquestionable but Daley's performance was far from stellar. He did enough to squeak out a win but the crowd was unimpressed and consequently booed. Instead of dealing with the situation graciously, Daley made tirades against paying spectators that would certainly make him look more villainous since the "cheap shot" incident.
As another sign of unprofessionalism, Paul "Semtex" Daley failed to make weight and gave up ten percent of his purse to the former lightweight Masvidal. Therefore Daley came to the fight much stronger and more powerful. Masvidal, on the other hand, came up in weight to fight Daley.
Jorge "Gamebred" Masvidal is a slick stand-up fighter and has enough power to knock out opponents but against the heavier and accomplished Muay Thai stylist, Paul Daley, Gamebred had no business trading blows with Semtex.
Quick Recap
Sure enough, all that Masvidal did that night was survival boxing. He just staved off Daley's range and danced around the cage. Masvidal had no real intention of trading blows. He was just baiting the more aggressive Daley to time his takedowns.
The first round was all Daley in terms of aggression but the second round had gone in favor of Masvidal as he became effective with his takedowns. Fortunately for Masvidal, he has great movement and defense in stand-up. He clearly frustrated Daley with his slick defense and takedown skills.
Masvidal fought a smart fight and exploited the weakness of Daley—wrestling and takedown defense. However, late into the fight, the stronger and bigger Daley unleashed a couple of furious ground-and-pounds. Despite that, Masvidal was far from being finished and that might be the reason why people were so disappointed with Daley. He fought a lightweight who can't hurt him but still couldn't manage to finish.
Daley’s Dilemma
In fairness to Daley, Jorge Masvidal is slick, tough, and smart as they come. He won't get finished that easily. He has been knocked out only once in his career. Expecting Daley to just walk through Masvidal was asking too much from the Brit. Understandably however, the crowd at the Civic Center Coliseum in Amarillo, Texas did not have the time for such assessment. Fans expected Daley to knock someone's head off which clearly did not happen.
The crowd booed and heckled which is rather normal in an uneventful fight. Sadly, Paul Daley handled the situation poorly. He got back at the crowd by saying, "This is my first fight back in America. You can tell all the fans love me with all the booing. There's a difference between me and them, I'm getting paid a helluva lot more than them." Then he added, "Your (the audience’s) tickets pay my wages."
Those brash statements would not win him any fans soon and it's getting fewer in numbers in each outing. It is amazing to know that Daley managed to come off being more despicable than Josh Koscheck yet Semtex pulled it off by punching Kos after their fight. That display of unsportsmanlike conduct resulted in a UFC exile. Despite of his skills as a fighter and exciting fighting style, Dana White made an example out of him to show to everyone that those kinds of actions are not tolerated and there are stringent penalties to follow.
Paul Daley's biggest problem is not his lack of takedown defense. Rather, it is his attitude and how he handles criticisms and frustrations. Fans boo cocky fighters who can't deliver but they hate arrogant sore losers. Apparently, Daley has been acting both cocky and arrogant to the extreme. If he does not clean up his act, he'll be fighting in smaller promotions throughout his life.
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