Paul Daley was one fight away from a potential Bellator MMA Welterweight Title fight before that was taken from his grasp by Doulgas Lima, but he does have a future opponent in mind.
It's not longtime rival Josh Koscheck -- instead, it's longtime UFC veteran Rory MacDonald that Daley wants to test himself against.
“Definitely it’s a fight that interests me (against MacDonald),” Daley told MMAjunkie. “I would love to test my skills against a guy that’s challenged for the UFC title. It would be a great fight. He’s the new prodigy after B.J. Penn. It would be great because he has a name, and it would be good to test my skills against him. We’ll see what happens. I think he will probably go straight for the title. We’ll see. If the fight is offered, I’ll take that.”
A rematch with Koscheck, whom Daley had previously battled in the UFC, is no longer a goal for the British fighter. Koscheck withdrew from their planned bout at Bellator 158. Daley would later hand-pick Lima, who defeated him.
“I think he’s past that – I think Koscheck is past it,” Daley said. “It’s quiet on the Koscheck front, and I’m not interested in calling him out or anything. I just don’t think the guy’s head is in the game. He’s quiet, and I think he’s a guy that’s going to stay there. More power to him. If you’re not really feeling it, then it’s dangerous to accept such a fight against me. I’m past that fight. There are many more interesting fights out there for me.”
Earlier this year, Daley told Fightful “When I signed with Bellator, I thought there was a chance in the fight getting put together. When I saw him cage side and saw the fear in his eyes when I was in Fresno, then meeting at the press conference and seeing his characteristics, and his demeanor, I was pretty confident that he wasn't going to show up to fight in London."
Paul Daley will be taking on Derek Anderson at Bellator 163 on Friday, November 4th from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut with Liam McGeary and Phil Davis headlining.
You can see Fightful's exclusive interview with Paul Daley at this link.
