UFC
QUOTABLES: Paul Daley doesn't know why Dana White doesn't like him, winning away from the UFC his redemption
Mar 30, 2011 - 1:20:39 PM QUOTABLES: Paul Daley doesn't know why Dana White doesn't like him, winning away from the UFC his redemption

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"What we were trying to do is assure we had security away from the Zuffa people prior to the fight. But the truth be told, when I am the Strikeforce champion, I'll have even more bargaining power, and it will be even more of a kick to the teeth of the guys that don't like me in the organization. To negotiate before the fight would show a lack of confidence in myself, and I'm very confident I'm going to beat Nick Diaz. Once a champion, I have more power to negotiate...

I don't particularly know why [Dana White] has dislike for me, but it's obvious he does have dislike for me. If no explanation or reason is given for disliking me, I'm generally going to dislike someone in return. If Dana gives me an honest opinion -- aside from hitting Koscheck after the bell -- as to why he genuinely dislikes me, then at least I'd get some explanation. But there's too many incidents in the history of the UFC that prove it's more personal. Many of the UFC fighters have done a lot worse things to bring the company into disrepute, and they're still there. So it must be personal...

The fact that I'm winning away from the UFC is enough redemption for me. I'm winning in front of fans, I'm making decent money. That's enough for me. I have redemption already, from every fight since the UFC. Getting 'Knockout of the Year,' which is something all the real fans in MMA were talking about in 2010, that was enough redemption. That was the icing on the cake for 2010. I think Dana definitely saw that and I guarantee he didn't like for that knockout not to be in the UFC."

-Paul Daley talks to MMAFighting.com about why he contemplated pulling out of the Nick Diaz fight when Zuffa took over Strikeforce and not understanding why Dana White still has a grudge against him.

Penick's Analysis: I think what Daley's forgetting is the way he reacted when White approached him in the cage after the sucker punch. It was his initial attitude when White confronted him after the sucker punch that incensed the UFC President and led to him saying Daley was banned for life from the UFC. But Daley is right that there are many instances of fighters getting back into the UFC's good graces. What he's missing is that hatchets were buried in those previous instances. It's going to take the same thing happening here to move forward. I still think it can happen, and should he beat Diaz I think there's a definite chance he'll end up in the Octagon again, but he also needs to not go out of his way to make things more difficult than they need to be.