Not long after losing the most important fight in his mixed martial arts career along with a spot in the top organization in the sport, British welterweight Paul Daley issued an apology that was directed at Josh Koscheck, Dana White, the UFC and mixed martial arts fans across the world.
Here is the apology Daley gave to the British website Telegraph:
“I’ve had a long flight home to consider my actions and regret the mistake I made on Saturday. I would like to apologize to the UFC and the Athletic Commission for what I’ve done as well as all the fans and sponsors that support me. I would also like to offer my sincerest apologies to Josh Koscheck who did not deserve the cheap shot I threw.
He did what he needed to do in order to win the fight and get the job done, and I foolishly reacted to the situation. There is no excuse for my actions and I know what I did was very unprofessional. I was immensely frustrated by a collection of things that took place throughout the fight as well as leading up to it, but I’m certainly not trying to condone or excuse my actions. I feel ashamed and embarrassed by what I did and hope that together my team and I can get through this issue.
It will be a long road back from where I am now to earning the trust and respect of the UFC and the MMA fans that have supported me for so long, I know I’ve let you all down but I’m determined to make it up to you all.”
Is this a case of too little too late? For the time being Daley is unemployed, but as we have seen in the past White has gone back on his word and brought back other fighters who were fired from the company.
Tito Ortiz is the biggest name that comes to mind when thinking about fighters who White had promised would never grace the octagon again. The one big difference is no matter how disrespectful Ortiz was towards White he never crossed the line that Daley crossed on Saturday night.
It is certainly going to take a lot more than an apology for White to ever consider bringing Daley back to the UFC. As the old expression goes, time heals all wounds. In the case of Daley that remains to be seen.
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