Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight slugger, Paul Daley, has more knockouts in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career (like this one) than most combatants have in total cage fights.
And that’s not counting his bouts on the kickboxing circuit.
But “Semtex” never made the Forbes list of highest paid athletes and never got enough traction in stateside competition to move the pay-per-view (PPV) needle, which is why Daley was slapped with a lifetime ban for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Though I don't seem to remember him getting arrested.
Former UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor, however, was cuffed and stuffed after smashing up a fighter bus with his Irish goon squad, which sent two people to the hospital and shook up the UFC 213 fight card.
Earning him the respect of promotion president Dana White.
That’s because “Notorious” is worth millions of dollars at the PPV box office and can make or break the promotion’s fiscal year. So with the new owners incurring a massive amount of debt just to keep the ship afloat, color commentator Joe Rogan argues that UFC has no choice but to leave McGregor in the limelight.
From his official podcast (via MMA Fighting):
“He just keeps fucking up with this kind of stuff and no one’s saying, ‘Get rid of him!’ Think about Paul Daley. Paul Daley must be at home going, ‘Motherfucker! Fuck Dana White!’ Until you get to that stratosphere that Conor McGregor - there’s so much money to be made, that’s the problem. The rules get bent. All Paul Daley did was throw a punch at Josh Kosheck after [fight was over]. It didn’t even connect! That could have been sorted out. There’s a level to the game where you’re so valuable - if Conor McGregor does a pay-per-view fight, especially if they do all that crazy nonsense with Mayweather - if they ever did that, they’re just printing money. They’re printing money. It’s so hard for them to not take that money.”
Daley appealed his ban in 2013, to no avail.
It’s unknown what punishment awaits McGregor, who is due back in court this June to answer for his crimes. It’s unlikely to be anything severe enough to prevent his Octagon return, but it’s liable to cost him a hefty chunk of change in both fines and lawsuits.
All for something as silly as this.
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